^)h 


•  W" 


> 


-fv- 


UNIVERSITY  OF  N.C.  AT  CHAPEL  HILL 


0004 


358734 


i> 


LAW'FtCN^E'     '\Z 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2012  with  funding  from 

University  of  North  Carolina  at  Chapel  Hill 


http://archive.org/details/campmatesinmichiOOrath 


Teddy  Saw  His  Chum  Paddle  Away 

(Camp  Mates  in  Michigan) 


(Page  104) 


CAMP    MATES 
IN  MICHIGAN 

or 

WITH  PACK  AND   PADDLE 
IN  THE  PINE  WOODS 


by 
ST.  GEORGE  RATHBORNE 


CHICAGO 

M.  A.  DONOHUE  &  COMPANY 


CANOE  AND  CAMPFIRE  SERIES 


Four  Books  of  Woodcraft  and  Adventure  in  the  Forest 

and  on  the  Water  that  every  Boy  Scout  should 

have  in  his  Library 

By  ST.  GEORGE  RATHBORNE 

CANOEMATES    IN    CANADA;    or,   Three    Boys   Afloat  on  the 

THE  YOUNG  FUR-TAKERS;  or,  Traps  and  Trails  in  the  Wilderness. 
THE  HOUSE-BOAT  BOYS;  or.  Drifting  Down  to  the  Sunny  South. 
CHUMS  IN  DIXIE;  or.  The  Strange  Cruise  of  a  Motor  Boat. 
CAMP    MATES    IN   MICHIGAN;   or,  With  Pack  and  Paddle  in  the 

Pine  Woods. 
ROCKY  MOUNTAIN  BOYS;  or,  Camping  in  the  Big  Game  Country. 


In  these  four  delightful  volumes  the  author  has  drawn 
bountifully  from  his  thirty-five  years  experience  as  a  true 
sportsman  and  lover  of  nature,  to  reveal  many  of  the  secrets 
of  the  woods,  such  as  all  Boys  Scouts  strive  to  know.  And, 
besides,  each  book  is  replete  with  stirring  adventures  among 
the  four-footed  denizens  of  the  wilderness ;  so  that  a  feast  of 
useful  knowledge  is  served  up,  with  just  that  class  of  stirring 
incidents  so  eagerly  welcomed  by  all  boys  with  red  blood  in 
their  veins.  For  sale  wherever  books  are  sold,  or  sent  prepaid 
for  50  cents  each  by  the  publishers. 


Copyright,  1913,  M.  A.  Donohue  &  Co. 


CONTENTS 

Chapter  Page 

I  The  Unwelcome  Visitor  in  Camp    .    .  7 

II  Paddling  Against  the  Current    .    .     19 

III  The  Joy  op  Camping  Out    ....      32 

IV  Amos  Gives  Warning 42 

V    The  Root  Hunter 53 

VI    Evidence  That  Talked 64 

VII  Dolph  Meets  Something    ....       75 

VIII  The  Way  to  Fish  for  Bull  Frogs    .  .     86 

IX  On  the  Shore  op  the  Lake    ...       97 

X    The  Fighting  Buck 106 

XI    On  the  Track  op  Amos 115 

XII    The  Game  Poachers 124 

XIII  Sallie 133 

XIV  Dolph  Hears  About  the  Haunted 

Cabin 149 

XV    The  Power  of  Music 158 

XVI  When  Crawley  Lost  His  Head    .    .   168 

XVII    The  Hole  in  the  Floor 178 

XVIII  The  Cabin  Abandoned  to  the 

Ghosts 188 

XIX  Teddy's  Woodcraft  Helps    ....  198 

XX    What  Sallie  Did 208 

XXI    The  Uplifted  Hand 217 

XXII    Fly  Fishing  for  Bass 226 

XXIII  Along  the  Tahquamanon     ....     233 

XXIV  Down  the  Soo  Rapids — Conclusion       243 


Camp  Mates  in  Michigan 

or 

With  Pack  and  Paddle  in  the  Pine  Woods 

CHAPTER  I 

THE  UNWELCOME    VISITOR    IN    CAMP 

"Wake  up  everybody!  Boarders  ahoy! 
Hey!  something's  after  our  grub!  Hurry  up, 
or  we'll  be  cleaned  out!" 

There  was  an  upheaval  of  blankets  in  the 
lone  tent  that  stood  on  the  bank  of  a  Michi- 
gan stream  j  then  three  boys  came  crawling 
every-which-way  out,  without  more  than  a 
hazy  idea  as  to  what  they  were  doing. 

But  at  any  rate,  all  of  them  seemed  to  know 
where  their  guns  lay,  for  every  fellow  gripped 
one  in  his  hands  as  he  emerged  in  this  manner 
from  the  interior  of  the  khaki  colored  tent, 
made  so  by  some  waterproofing  tanning 
process. 

"What  is  it,  Dolph?"  demanded  the  first 
to  arrive  on  the  heels  of  the  boy  who  had 
shouted  the  alarm,  and  whose  name  was 
Dolph  Bradley. 


8        CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

"It  jumped  back,  Teddy,  when  I  poked 
my  head  out;  and  I  think  made  up  in  that 
pine  yonder/'  came  the  quick  response,  as 
the  aforesaid  Dolph  pointed  with  his  gun. 

"And  was  it  getting  away  with  some  of 
our  fine  stuff?"  asked  Teddy,  in  evident  dis- 
may, as  his  eyes  roamed  toward  a  little  pile 
of  duffle  at  the  foot  of  another  tree  close  to  the 
tent. 

"It  sure  was.  That's  the  ham  lying  right 
out  there,  now,  where  I  guess  he  dropped 
it  at  seeing  me.  After  this  we've  got  to 
take  that  into  the  tent  with  us,  if  we  want  to 
save  the  same." 

"But  are  we  going  to  let  the  scamp  get  off 
scot  free,  after  nearly  wrecking  the  expedi- 
tion; because  if  we  lost  our  ham  I'd  feel  like 
our  best  friend  was  gone?  For  one,  I'd  like 
to  let  this  thief  know  what  we  think  of  him. 
I  think  I  could  put  a  charge  of  Number  Sevens 
under  his  jacket,  from  my  little  Marlin  here, 
that  would  do  the  business  in  double-quick 
style,"  and  Teddy  Overton  patted  the  re- 
peating twelve-bore  modern  gun  he  held,  with 
the  air  of  one  who  knew  he  could  depend  on 
its  hard  hitting  qualities. 

"Let's  spread  out  a  little,  so  as  to  cover 
more  ground,"  suggested  Dolph;     and  with 


UNWELCOME  VISITOR  IN  CAMP      9 

that  the  three  boys  moved  apart,  each  with 
his  weapon  half  raised,  so  as  to  be  ready  for 
quick  work,  if  the  necessity  arose. 

The  one  who  as  yet  had  not  spoken  a  single 
word,  gave  the  fire  a  kick  in  passing,  and  this 
caused  it  to  blaze  up  afresh,  just  as  he  knew 
it  would. 

"Good  for  you,  Amos!"  exclaimed  Dolph. 
"That  makes  it  better  to  aim  by.  Does 
anybody  glimpse  him  yet?" 

"  Not  1 5  but  see  here,  Dolph, "  Teddy  went 
on  to  say,  "you  haven't  told  us  what  sort  of 
a  beast  it  was.  Must  be  along  the  cat  order, 
or  it  wouldn't  try  to  steal  a  whole  ham,  and 
then  take  to  a  tree,  when  you  poked  your 
head  out  to  see  what  was  doing. " 

"It  sure  was  a  cat,  and  the  biggest  I  ever 
ran  across,"  Dolph  hurriedly  declared.  "You 
see,  the  fire  was  burning  kind  of  low,  and  it 
jumped  so  quick  I  didn  't  get  more 'n  a  glimpse 
of  the  thing  j  but  there  was  something  queer 
about  it.  If  you  asked  me  right  off  the 
shoulder  now,  I'd  be  apt  to  say  it  had  little 
bells  hanging  from  its  ears!' 

Teddy  burst  out  into  a  laugh. 

'  'Hear  that,  Amos?  "  he  cried.  "  Rings  on 
her  fingers,  and  bells  on  her  toes;  she  shall 
have  music  wherever  she  goes,  eh?    Sounds 


10       CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

like  that,  doesn't  it?  Now,  I  guess  from 
what  you  say,  Dolph,  our  bold  visitor,  that 
likes  smoked  ham  so  much,  belongs  to  the 
lynx  class  of  bob-cats." 

"What,  a  real  Canada  lynx?"  exploded 
Dolph.  "That  excites  me  a  whole  lot,  let 
me  tell  you;  for  if  there's  one  animal  in  this 
country  I ' ve  always  wanted  to  run  across  it 's 
a  genuine  lynx.  Heard  a  lot  about  the  sly 
things,  too.  Shot  cats  in  Florida,  Louisiana, 
Virginia,  and  up  in  Maine,  but  never  saw  a 
lynx.  I  hope  you're  not  mistaken,  Teddy, 
and  that  I  get  a  chance  to  clap  my  eyes  on 
him." 

"Then  look  sharp;  I  know  the  beast's 
habits  pretty  well, "  ventured  the  other;  whose 
father  being  a  rich  lumber  merchant,  it  was 
only  natural  that  the  boy  should  be  acquainted 
with  these  Michigan  pine  woods,  and  their 
furry  inhabitants,"  and  the  chances  are  that, 
having  got  a  taste  of  our  fine  ham,  he  won't 
want  to  clear  out  without  trying  to  carry  it 
with  him." 

"  Wait!  I  think  I  see  something  that  looks 
like  a  big  knob  on  one  of  his  limbs!'  ex- 
claimed Dolph,  eagerly. 

"Hi!  there,  go  slow!"  cautioned  Teddy, 
fearing  an  attack,  if  any  blunder  were  com- 


UNWELCOME  VISITOR  IN  CAMP     1 1 

mitted;  "a  lynx  only  wounded  can  upset  a 
whole  camp  like  a  twister  of  a  cyclone  had 
struck  it,  ain't  that  so,  Amos?" 

"It  sure  is,"  answered  the  third  member 
of  the  party  of  campers,  a  stocky  boy,  who 
was  not  apparently  as  well  to  do  as  the  others, 
if  one  could  judge  from  the  old  gun  he  car- 
ried, and  his  general  make-up;  for  while 
Teddy  and  Dolph  had  donned  pajamas  when 
they  retired  for  the  night,  Amos  had  simply 
removed  part  of  his  day  clothes,  and  crawled 
under  his  blanket  that  way;  but  from  the 
manner  in  which  he  handled  his  weapon,  he 
evidently  felt  pretty  much  at  home  in  the 
wilderness. 

''Does  it  seem  to  move,  Dolph?"  asked 
Teddy,  when  the  other  continued  to  bend  his 
head  forward,  and  stare  at  a  certain  point 
among  the  rather  thick  branches  of  the 
marked  pine. 

"Don't  seem  to,  and  that's  what  bothers 
me, "  came  the  ready  reply.  "I  rather  think 
it  can't  be  much,  either,  because,  if  it  was 
the  lynx,  I'd  almost  surely  see  his  yellow 
eyes  staring  at  me,  wouldn't  I?" 

"That's  what  you  would,' '  answered  Amos. 

"And  that's  been  what  I've  had  my  eye 
peeled  for  all  the  time,"  declared  Teddy. 


12      CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

"But  I  wish  somebody 'd  hurry  up  and 
glimpse  the  old  thief.  This  night  air  ain't 
as  salubrious  as  it  might  be.  Fact  is,  I'm 
beginning  to  get  the  shakes;  and  give  you 
my  word,  it  ain't  the  excitement  at  all  that's 
making  my  hands  tremble.  Think  that  if 
I  moved  over  this  way  a  little,  perhaps  I 
might  stir  him  up.  Watch  now,  everybody; 
and  shoot  at  the  drop  of  a  hat!" 

As  he  said  this,  Teddy  slowly  started  to 
walk  farther  away,  so  as  to  be  able  to  investi- 
gate parts  of  the  suspected  tree  that,  up  to 
then,  had  not  come  fully  under  observation. 
The  revived  fire  was  doing  pretty  well,  for  the 
flames  had  seized  on  portions  of  wood  only 
partly  burned,  and  were  crackling  merrily. 
And  the  light  revealed  the  presence  of  two 
up-to-date  canoes  partly  hauled  up  on  the 
shore  not  thirty  feet  away  from  the  tent, 
thus  disclosing  the  fact  that  the  trio  of  lads 
had  used  the  water  way  in  order  to  reach 
their  present  camp  in  the  Michigan  pines. 

A  sudden  exclamation  from  Teddy  an- 
nounced that  his  latest  move  had  met  with 
at  least  some  measure  of  success. 

"See  anything?"  called  out  Dolph,  eagerly, 
for  he  had  been  hoping  that  the  opportunity 
to  blaze  away  might  come  to  him. 


UNWELCOME  VISITOR  IN  CAMP     13 

"Looks  like  it,  but  I'll  soon  know, "  replied 
the  other,  as  he  stooped  to  pick  up  some  ob- 
ject. "I'm  going  to  toss  this  piece  of  wood 
up  there.  Be  ready  now;  for  if  it's  our 
visitor  he'll  be  apt  to  change  his  position. 
Here  goes! 

With  that  he  gave  the  object  a  quick  twirl, 
and  they  could  distinctly  hear  it  stirring  the 
outer  branches  of  the  pines,  to  fall  to  the 
ground  again  with  a  soft  thud. 

Teddy  was  heard  to  utter  a  sharp  ejacu- 
lation, and  from  this  the  others  understood 
that  in  all  probability  his  little  scheme  had 
met  with  success.  They  glanced  that  way 
and  saw  him  bend  his  head  down  to  glance 
along  the  repeating  gun's  matted  barrel. 

Then  came  a  sudden  report,  and  with  it  a 
shrill  screech,  that  sounded  very  much  as 
though  Teddy  could  have  made  no  mistake 
when  be  believed  he  was  aiming  at  the  hairy 
thief. 

Loud  outcries  arose  with  the  opening  of 
hostilities. 

"Did  you  nail  him?"  demanded  Dolph, 
greatly  excited. 

"No,  I  guess  not,"  replied  Teddy,  in  a 
chagrined  tone.  "The  beast  gave  a  jump 
just  as  I  pulled  trigger,  and  I  must  have  cut 


14      CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

the  air  where  he  sat.  But  he  hasn't  left 
that  tree  yet,  fellows.  We  command  every 
side  of  the  same;  and  unless  he  can  fly,  we 
ought  to  get  another  crack  at  him.  Be  lively, 
now,  and  try  to  do  better  than  I  did.  I  must 
still  be  in  the  greenhorn  class,  though  I 
thought  I  'd  graduated  three  years  ago. 

"Oh!  don't  worry  about  that!"  sang  out 
Dolph,  cheerily:  " mistakes  will  happen  you 
know,  even  in  the  best  regulated  families. 
I've  done  worse  than  that  more'n  a  few 
times;  and  I've  hunted  in  a  good  many 
countries  with  my  dad,  you  know.  Wow! 
I  wonder  now,  can  that  be  the  sly  cat?  Yes, 
looks  like  I  can  see  twin  glow-worms  up  there 
in  that  dark  pocket.  Had  I  better  give  him 
a  try,  Teddy?" 

"If  you  feel  pretty  sure  it's  the  ham  thief, 
why,  go  ahead  and  pot  him;  but  as  quick 
as  you  shoot,  leap  to  one  side;  because  I've 
always  heard  these  lynx  are  just  chain  light- 
ning on  the  jump,  even  when  they've  got 
their  death  wound." 

"  Reckon  I  will  then,  because  I  ain't  hank- 
ering after  feeling  his  claws  rake  me  fore  and 
aft,"  replied  Dolph,  who  came  from  Cincin- 
nati, and  was  the  son  of  a  well  known  mil- 
lionaire of  that  city. 


UNWELCOME  VISITOR  IN  CAMP     15 

"Steady,  boy;  make  sure!"  cautioned 
Teddy,  as  he  saw  that  the  other  was  aiming 
upward  with  his  expensive  gun,  the  finest 
that  a  celebrated  firm  in  England  could  put 
together  for  any  amount  of  money;  but 
which  even  then  Teddy  would  not  have  ac- 
cepted for  his  own  tried  and  true  weapon. 

Hardly  had  he  spoken  than  Dolph  fired. 
Remembering  the  warning  given  by  his  camp- 
mate  the  Cincinnati  boy  jumped  backward 
as  soon  as  he  had  fairly  pulled  the  trigger. 
His  heels  catching  in  a  root,  the  presence  of 
which  he  knew  nothing  about,  as  a  consequence 
he  was  tripped  up,  and  went  headlong  to  the 
ground. 

Dolph  was  conscious  of  a  shrill  scream, 
this  time  not  of  anger  but  pain ;  and  that  some 
heavy  body  flew  through  space  in  the  very 
spot  which  his  form  had  occupied.  That  fall 
was  the  finest  thing  that  could  have  happened 
to  him,  after  all,  because,  in  spite  of  his 
movement,  the  leaping  lynx  must  have  landed 
on  him  only  for  his  sprawling  on  his  back. 

Realizing  the  desperate  nature  of  his  po- 
sition Dolph  rolled  over  once  or  twice  before 
he  even  attempted  to  regain  an  erect  position. 
Then,  on  his  knees  he  worked  at  the  mecha- 
nism of  his  expensive  imported  shotgun,  only 


16      CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

to  find  that  somehow  his  fall  must  have  jam- 
med it;  or  else  in  his  excitement  he  failed  to 
do  exactly  the  thing  that  was  necessary,  for 
he  could  not  get  another  shell  in  the  firing 
chamber. 

'This  way,  quick*  I  can't  get  my  gun  to 
work!"  he  shrilled,  half  believing  that  in 
another  instant  he  would  have  the  unfuriated 
and  wounded  lynx  on  top  of  him. 

He  could  hear  a  dreadful  threshing  about 
only  a  few  yards  away  from  him;  and  the 
awful  thought  flashed  through  his  head  that 
perhaps  the  beast  was  clawing  one  of  his 
chums.  But  as  he  immediately  after  saw 
Teddy  coming  on  the  jump  from  one  direction, 
while  the  Michigan  boy  showed  up  from  the 
other  Dolph's  mind  became  easier. 

"It's  over  there — I  must  have  hit  it  hard, 
from  the  racket  the  thing  keeps  up!  Be 
ready  to  cover  him,  Teddy,  Amos;  because 
my  plaguey  old  gun's  jammed,  and  I  can't 
get  it  to  work!" 

"Don't  bother,"  said  Teddy,  with  a  short, 
nervous  laugh*  "  I  guess  you  potted  your  first 
lynx  all  right,  old  fellow.  He's  sure  kicking 
his  last,  if  I'm  any  judge  of  things.  But 
don't  get  too  close,  mind  you;  they're  nasty, 
treacherous  beasts  at  the  best.    And  he  might 


UNWELCOME  VISITOR  IN  CAMP     1 7 

give  some  of  us  a  streaking  with  his  last 
effort." 

"Oh!"  shouted  Dolph,  with  such  an  odd 
inflection  of  alarm  in  his  voice  that  the  others 
were  naturally  startled. 

"What's  the  matter  now?"  cried  Teddy, 
whirling  around  toward  the  other. 

"There's  another  cat  crawling  along  on  the 
ground — by  ginger!  two  of  'em!  Why,  the 
woods  must  be  full  of  them!  We're  going  to 
be  swamped  with  lynxes,  boysj  and  this  gun 
just  won't  behave  half-way  decent,"  and 
Dolph  ended  with  a  groan  as  he  kept  working 
away  excitedly  at  the  mechanism  of  his  re- 
peating weapon. 

"Where?  I  see  one!"  cried  Teddy,  as  he 
swung  his  gun  around  swiftly. 

"Bang!" 

"That's  the  end  of  him;  now  show  me  the 
other  cat,  will  you,  Dolph?  Bring  'em  on  as 
fast  as  you  like;  as  long  as  my  little  Marlin's 
got  a  single  shell  left,  I  'm  good  for  any  amount 
of  game.    Where's  the  next  victim?" 

"Over  yonder,  crouching  at  the  foot  of  that 
tree^  don't  you  see  its  eyes  now,  Teddy?" 
whooped  the  boy  from  Cincinnati. 

"Shure  I  do;  and  that  means  I'm  due  for 


18      CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

another  victim.  "Watch  me  rool  his  hoop  for 
him,  will  you,  fellows?" 

"Bang!"  went  the  repeating  shotgun  again. 

"You  did  it  that  time  too,  Teddy!  Oh! 
if  only  this  old  gun  hadn '  t  got  stuck  just  when 
I  needed  it  most,  I  might  have  made  a  clean 
sweep  of  the  lot!"  cried  Dolph.  "I've  got 
a  good  notion  to  smash  the  old  thing  against  a 
tree,  and  do  without  the  rest  of  the  trip, 
that's  what!" 

"Don't  think  of  it, "  called  out  the  lumber- 
man 's  son,  steadily.  "  Perhaps  after  all  you're 
more  to  blame  than  the  gun,  Dolph.  I've 
been  that  excited  myself  when  in  a  bad  hole, 
that  I  hardly  knew  how  I  was  clawing  at  the 
right  part  of  my  gun  to  work  a  new  shell  in. 
Do  you  see  any  sign  of  my  cats  coming  out  of 
their  trance  again?" 

"ISlo,  they  seem  as  dead  as  doornails;  that 
gun  is  a  hard  hitter,  Teddy,"  remarked  Amos 
Simmons,  as  he  handled  his  own  rather  old 
fashioned  single  shot  weapon  with  something 
approaching  a  sigh,  as  of  envy,  though  he 
never  voiced  such  a  feeling. 


CHAPTER  II 

PADDLING   AGAINST   THE    CURRENT 

"Any  more  around  that  you  can  see?" 
Teddy  went  on  to  call  out,  hilariously.  "If 
there  are,  let  'em  step  right  up  to  the  pursers' 
office,  and  settle.  But  I  rather  think  the 
pair  I  potted  look  sort  of  small  for  the  lynx 
tribe.  I  guess  they  must  be  half -grown  cubs, 
after  all;    and  you  got  the  mother,  Dolph." 

"Just  what  they  are,"  announced  Amos, 
who  had  strode  forward,  and  was  bending 
over  the  last  victim  of  Teddy's  snap  shots. 
"But  pretty  tough  lookin'  customers  at  that, 
I  tell  you,  boys.  I  kinder  guess  they'd  put 
up  a  rushin'  fight,  if  cornered.  But  you 
wound  'em  up  one,  two,  three,  Teddy,  with 
that  gun  of  yours." 

Amos  was  a  real  Michigan  boy.  He  had 
been  in  logging  camps  ever  since  he  was 
"knee  high  to  a  grasshopper,"  as  he  always 
said  j  and  was  as  tough  as  a  pine-knot,  so  far 
as  physical  endurance  went.  Teddy  had 
known  him  several  years;  and  once  before  they 
had  hunted  in  company  around  this  very 


20      CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

region.  While  the  lumberman's  son  and 
his  friend  from  Cincinnati  laid  out  this  sum- 
mer trip  with  pack  and  paddle  through  the 
pine  woods  of  the  upper  reaches  of  the  Wolver- 
ine State,  Teddy  had  suggested  hiring  Amos 
to  go  along,  not  exactly  in  the  nature  of  a 
guide,  nor  yet  as  a  cook,  but  simply  for  com- 
pany. And  knowing  that  when  far  away 
from  civilization  two  boys  are  apt  to  find  it 
a  bit  lonely,  Dolph  had  readily  agreed. 

He  had  heard  his  friend  tell  more  or  less 
about  the  natural  ability  Amos  possessed  as 
a  doctor;  and  that  it  was  the  ambition  of  his 
life  to  later  on  take  a  regular  course  in  some 
medical  school.  And  Teddy  had  also  confided 
to  Dolph  the  fact  that  he  meant  to  coax  his 
father  to  see  that  the  woods  boy  had  his 
chance,  when  he  reached  an  age  to  allow  of 
such  a  thing;  because  he  would  make  a  fine 
doctor  some  day,  as  his  whole  heart  was  set 
on  curing  ailments,  binding  up  wounds,  and 
alleviating  pain. 

So  it  came  that  there  were  three  of  them 
in  the  party,  with  two  canoes  instead  of  just 
one  overcrowded  boat.  Most  of  the  duffle, 
such  as  the  tent  and  the  blankets,  they  usu- 
ally stored  in  this  one  canoe,  with  a  single 
occupant  to  ply  the  paddle,  while  the  other 


AGAINST  THE  CURRENT  21 

two  campers  took  charge  of  the  second  craft. 

They  had  laid  out  a  regular  course,  which 
would  take  them  through  the  wildest  part 
of  the  country  of  the  peninsula,  starting  in  at 
Manistique  on  the  southern  shore,  where  the 
waves  of  Lake  Michigan  beat  the  sandy 
strand,  and  following  the  winding,  picturesque 
river  up  to  the  lakes  that  were  said  to  be  its 
source.  At  this  point  they  expected  to  find 
some  man  who  had  a  team  capable  of  taking 
their  light  canvas  canoes  across  country,  until 
beyond  the  railroad  they  could  be  launched 
in  the  waters  of  the  Tahquamanon  river; 
following  which  to  its  mouth  would  bring  the 
adventurous  cruisers  into  the  celebrated  White 
Fish  Bay  of  Lake  Superior;  and  here  they 
could  skirt  the  shore  until  finally  they  arrived 
at  Saulte  Ste.  Marie,  where  the  waters  of 
Superior  rush  down  the  mighty  rapids  into 
St .  Mary's  river,  thence  through  Lakes  Huron, 
Erie  and  Ontario,  and  afterwards  being  car- 
ried along  the  mighty  St.  Lawrence  river 
to  the  sea. 

It  was  a  noble  trip  to  lay  out,  and  the  three 
boys  had  already  spent  some  time  making 
their  way  to  the  point  where  we  find  them 
passing  a  night  on  the  bank  of  the  river,  at 
the  time  the  wildcats  invaded  their  camp, 


22      CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

and  produced  such   consternation,  although 
paying  dearly  for  their  fun. 

"Now  come  and  take  a  look  at  your  prize, 
Dolph!"  Teddy  called  out,  and  then  it's 
back  to  my  downy  for  me;  because  I'm 
shaking  all  over,  like  a  jelly-fish." 

He  dragged  the  now  defunct  lynx  out 
nearer  the  still  blazing  fire,  so  that  the  others 
could  look  it  over. 

'  'Ugh!  I'm  right  glad  now  that  root  tripped 
me  up,"  remarked  Dolph.  "Only  for  that, 
those  claws  might  have  ripped  me  consider- 
ably before  the  beast  keeled  over." 

"I  should  say,  yes,"  chuckled  Teddy. 
"And  now  excuse  me,  please,  but  I'm  in  for 
the  grand  disappearing  act.  I'll  chuck  that 
fine  ham  inside  the  tent  as  I  go.  Better 
follow  my  example,  Dolph,  if  you  don 't  want 
to  catch  cold.    Get  your  gun  to  work  yet?" 

"Why,  yes,  it  seems  to;  but  I'm  rather 
discouraged  about  the  thing,"  the  other  re- 
marked. "Guess  these  repeating  guns  are  a 
bit  unreliable  in  a  pinch. " 

"H'm!  not  if  you  keep  your  wits  about 
you,  and  do  the  right  thing;  but  for  any  one 
apt  to  get  rattled,  the  old  style  might  be  best. 
Not  that  I'm  blaming  you,  this  time,  Dolph, 
because  you  had  an  ugly  tumble,  you  see. 
Well,  so-long. " 


AGAINST  THE  CURRENT  23 

As  neither  of  the  other  lads  chanced  to  be 
feeling  any  too  warm  about  then,  they  waited 
not  upon  the  order  of  their  going,  but  ducked 
into  the  tent  soon  after  Teddy  vanished. 
Amos,  however,  with  the  instinct  of  one  who 
had  spent  pretty  much  all  of  his  young  life 
in  the  forest,  waited  long  enough  to  throw 
several  more  large  pieces  of  wood  on  the  fire, 
meaning  to  find  something  warm  when  morn- 
ing came  along,  for  the  air  was  sure  to  be  cool 
up  to  the  time  the  sun  rose  part  way  up  in 
the  eastern  heavens. 

There  was  no  further  alarm;  and  when 
dawn  came  peeping  through  the  pines  the 
campers  were  soon  astir.  However,  no  one 
seemed  anxious  to  take  the  customary  morn- 
ing dip  in  the  stream,  so  sharp  was  the  air. 
Dolph  had  his  fishing-rod  jointed,  it  being  a 
steel  affair  calculated  to  resist  the  rush  of  even 
a  furious  muscallonge.  So,  being  an  enthusi- 
ast in  this  sport,  he  was  out  the  first  thing, 
having  a  try  to  see  whether  he  could  not  pick 
up  a  mess  of  trout  for  breakfast. 

Fortune  smiled  on  his  efforts  too,  for  he 
made  several  fairly  decent  captures,  which 
Amos  cleaned  in  the  most  approved  style  as 
fast  as  the  fisherman  threw  them  to  him. 

And  in  the  end,  just  as  the  first  rays  of  the 
sun  found  them  out,  from  the  delicate  odors 


24      CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

that  were  going  up  from  that  fire,  such  as 
coffee  and  trout,  it  was  evident  that  the  boys 
were  in  for  a  treat  they  never  tired  of. 

While  Dolph  was  doing  the  fishing,  and 
Amos  looking  after  breakfast,  the  third  mem- 
ber of  the  expedition  had  another  sort  of  job 
laid  out  for  his  amusement.  This  consisted 
in  taking  off  the  furry  coats  of  the  three  dead 
lynx.  They  were  all  in  a  fair  condition, 
though  the  shot  holes  would  have  to  be  hidden 
by  the  man  who  eventually  made  them  into  a 
rug;  and  for  the  summer  season,  when  furs 
are  generally  pretty  "skimp,"  Teddy  said 
they  passed  muster. 

Amos  knew  how  to  cook  trout  so  as  to 
brown  them  in  a  crisp  manner.  He  first  of 
all  "  tried  out"  several  slices  of  fat  salt  pork; 
and  after  the  resulting  liquid  had  become 
furiously  hot,  he  dropped  in  the  fish,  that  had 
first  been  dipped  in  cracker  crumbs.  It  was 
very  much  after  the  manner  in  which  the  New 
England  cook  manages  with  her  crullers,  only 
no  lard  was  used. 

Each  of  the  boys  was  gifted  with  a  hearty 
appetite;  and  when  breakfast  was  declared 
closed  there  were  precious  few  crumbs  to 
throw  away,  outside  of  the  fish-bones.  Yet 
Amos  had  seen  to  it  that  enough  had  been 
provided  to  satisfy  all. 


AGAINST  THE  CURRENT  25 

Afterwards  came  the  duty  of  taking  down 
the  tent,  and  packing  things  away  in  the 
canoe  that  was  used  partly  for  their  trans- 
portation, being  paddled  by  Amos  himself, 
the  huskiest  of  the  lot. 

They  had  this  thing  reduced  to  a  science, 
from  long  practice.  Everything  went  in  a 
particular  place,  and  thus  they  economized 
in  the  matter  of  space,  which  counted  for 
much  on  a  trip  of  this  sort. 

"All  ready?"  sang  out  Dolph,  as  he  bal- 
anced his  paddle,  sitting  in  the  front  of  the 
canoe  which  he  and  Teddy  managed. 

"Just  a  minute  more,  while  I  throw  some 
water  on  what's  left  of  the  fire,"  said  Teddy. 
"You  see,  I'm  a  lumberman's  son,  and  I 
never  like  to  think  of  taking  chances  of 
having  the  wind  scatter  the  red-hot  embers 
of  a  deserted  camp  fire,  to  start  a  forest 
blaze  that  might  burn  up  millions  and  mil- 
lions of  feet  of  fine  timber. " 

"  Yes'm  you  're  right,  I  believe  in  the  same 
thing!"  declared  Dolph,  "though  I  look  at  it 
from  the  view  of  a  true  sportsman,  who  will 
never,  never  leave  a  fire  burning  after  him, 
when  he  breaks  up  camp.  I  was  in  one 
woods'  fire  up  in  the  Adirondacks  two  years 
back,  and  came  mighty  near  having  my  crop 


26      CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

of  hair  singed  off;  and  they  said  it  started  just 
in  that  way,  on  a  windy  day.  Why,  in  Maine, 
they  won't  let  hunters  go  into  the  woods 
without  a  licensed  guide  along,  who  is  sup- 
posed to  see  to  it  that  no  chances  are  taken 
with  fires  left  by  careless  city  sportsmen;  or 
rather  men  who  like  to  call  themselves  by 
that  name,  though  they  are  often  a  disgrace 
to  the  cloth." 

"Yes,  I've  run  across  a-plenty  of  that  kind 
up  here  in  Michigan,  and  over  in  Wisconsin, " 
remarked  Amos.  "We  call 'em  fish  hogs  up 
here,  because,  when  they  strike  a  lake  where 
the  trout  bite  free-like,  they  keep  on  throwing 
bushels  out  on  the  bank  to  die  and  rot.  I 
hate  the  breed,  and  I  think  they  just  ought 
to  be  tarred  and  feathered,  that's  what. " 

"Same  here,"  remarked  Teddy.  "In  my 
opinion  every  fellow  who  wants  to  call  him- 
self a  true  sportsman  should  give  the  animals 
and  fish  a  chance  to  breed.  When  he's 
caught  all  he  can  use,  he  ought  to  stop  fishing, 
unless  he  happens  to  be  using  artificial  flies, 
when  he  can  put  all  the  rest  he  takes  back 
again,  because  they  won't  be  hurt  that  way. 
I've  stopped  many  a  time  when  using  live 
minnow,  because  I  knew  that  when  bass 
gorge  the  bait,  they  're  sure  to  die,  even  if  you 


AGAINST  THE  CURRENT  27 

do  throw  them  overboard  again.  The  hook 
tears  them  more  or  less.  Well,  everybody 
ready  now?" 

"O.  K.  here!"  sang  out  Amos. 

"Then  let's  be  off,  for  we've  got  a  strong 
bit  of  work  before  us  today,  with  all  this  water 
coming  down  the  old  Manistique,"  and  as 
he  spoke,  Teddy  thrust  his  paddle  deep  in  the 
running  water  of  the  river,  and  gave  a  thrust 
that  started  the  canoe  on  its  farther  journey 
northward. 

As  they  labored  with  regular  movements 
the  boys  often  indulged  in  laughter,  and  even 
broke  out  at  times  in  bits  of  song;  for  they 
were  light-hearted,  and  seemed  to  have  few 
cares  or  troubles  sitting  on  their  broad  shoul- 
ders. Indeed,  the  millionaire's  son,  and  the 
heir  of  the  wealthy  lumberman,  certainly 
knew  nothing  at  all  of  anxiety  with  regard 
to  their  well-being.  Amos,  being  a  poor  boy, 
often  doubtless  tried  to  lift  the  veil  of  the 
future,  eager  to  ascertain  what  lay  in  store 
for  him  there )  but  he  was  still  young,  and 
care  does  not  weigh  down  youth  very  often. 
Besides,  he  enjoyed  the  company  of  his  camp 
mates  so  much,  that  for  the  time  being  the 
woods  boy  felt  supremely  happy. 

This  sort  of  work  continued  until  the  sun 


28      CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

had  reached  a  position  so  near  the  zenith 
that  they  knew  it  must  be  close  to  the  noon 
hour.  And  as  their  muscles  had  for  some 
little  time  now,  been  feeling  more  or  less  sore, 
because  of  the  constant  labor,  it  was  decided 
as  usual  to  take  a  rest. 

They  would  not  let  a  chance  pass  by  to  have 
a  fire  going,  even  though  the  day  had  turned 
out  quite  warm.  With  such  vast  quantities 
of  easy  burning  pine  all  around  them,  and 
Amos  just  wild  to  always  take  care  of  the 
fire,  which  he  dearly  loved,  of  course,  they 
could  not  resist  the  temptation  j  and  soon  a 
crackling  blaze  was  sending  up  its  cheery 
song,  such  as  has  bolstered  up  the  spirits  of 
many  a  lonely  camper  all  over  the  known 
world;  for  the  fire  is  certainly  one  of  man's 
finest  servants;  but  like  some  other  things,  a 
very  bad  master,  once  it  is  allowed  to  have  its 
own  head. 

About  an  hour  and  a  half  afterwards,  the 
voyage  was  resumed,  though  none  of  the 
boys  paddled  with  just  the  same  vim  that 
had  marked  the  start.  It  was  now  more  in 
the  nature  of  pure  grit  that  carried  them 
steadily  along;  the  pleasure  had  mostly 
petered  out  during  that  hard  dash  of  the 
morning. 


AGAINST  THE  CURRENT  29 

And/as^the  afternoon  shadows  began  to 
lengthen  perceptibly,  it  might  be  noticed  that 
they  were  more  frequently  mentioning  the 
fact  that  this  place  or  that  seemed  to  offer 
pretty  fine  prospects  for  a  night's  lodging, 
though  thus  far  no  one  openly  advocated 
bringing  the  day's  run  to  a  close. 

There  were  parts  of  this  section  of  country 
where  the  great  Overton  Lumber  Company 
had  its  numerous  squads  of  men  busy  in 
the  winter  season,  cutting  timber,  which, 
however  was  getting  more  and  more  scarce 
in  the  peninsula   of    Michigan  every  year. 

It  chanced  that  there  was  a  rival  company, 
also  a  big  corporation,  which,  being  exceed- 
ingly jealous  of  the  success  attending  the  work 
of  the  Overton,  never  tired  of  trying  all  sorts 
of  games  calculated  to  run  the  other  out  of 
the  district.  Teddy  amused  his  camp  mates 
many  times,  when  sitting  around  the  fire  of 
nights,  by  relating  how  his  father  managed  to 
outwit  the  owners  of  this  rival  concern  on 
more  than  a  few  occasions,  when  they  came  to 
loggerheads. 

And  the  men  were  almost  as  bitter  toward 
each  other  as  their  employers;  so  that  each, 
winter  there  were  one  or  more  regular  battles 


30      CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

when  the  Overton  loggers  chanced  to  be  cut- 
ting within  a  few  miles  of  the  rival  camp. 

"  We've  all  got  to  clear  out  of  this  before 
a  great  while, "  Teddy  would  remark,  doubt- 
less echoing  the  words  he  had  heard  his  father 
say;  " because  the  available  timber  is  getting 
less  and  less  every  year.  That 's  what  makes 
things  so  warm  between  the  two  companies, 
you  see.  Amos,  here,  used  to  work  for  the 
Combine  once,  and  he  knows  what  under- 
handed tricks  they  keep  on  tr}dng  to  play, 
with  the  idea  of  forcing  us  out  of  the  State,  so 
as  to  leave  things  to  them.  But  it  don't 
work.  My  dad  is  some  fighter  himself;  and 
with  the  law  back  of  him,  he  just  laughs  at 
threats.  But  sometimes  it  makes  mother 
afraid  that  they  may  do  something  desperate. 
Once  a  shot  was  fired  at  him,  and  the  bullet 
clipped  a  piece  out  of  his  hat.  Never  learned 
who  did  it;  but  dad  always  believed  it  was  a 
thug  hired  by  the  other  company  to  scare 
him  a  little.  But  we're  still  here  on  deck, 
and  this  year  expect  to  cut  more  timber  than 
ever.  Might  as  well  get  our  share  of  it  while 
the  stuff  lasts." 

The  three  paddlers  kept  up  their  steady 
work,  as  the  sun  headed  down  into  the  western 
sky. 

"How  about  those   clouds  over  yonder, 


AGAINST  THE  CURRENT  31 

Teddy?"  asked  Dolph,  when  the  afternoon 
was  possibly  two-thirds  gone.  ''Looks  a 
little  like  rain,  don't  you  think?" 

" Where?"  ejaculated  the  other,  eagerly, 
as  though  he  just  welcomed  a  chance  to  call 
a  halt  upon  the  day's  doings.  "Well,  yes, 
to  be  sure  they  have  got  a  sort  of  ugly  look. 
P'raps  we'd  just  as  well  draw  in  at  that  point 
ahead,  and  make  things  snug  for  the  night. 
Because  we ' ve  been  favored  with  good  weather 
up  to  now,  mustn't  make  us  think  we're 
always  going  to  have  the  same.  You  never 
know  what's  going  to  come  up  in  a  night; 
and  for  that  reason  I  always  make  it  a  point, 
even  when  things  look  as  peaceful  as  they 
could,  to  secure  the  canvas  of  a  tent,  just  as  if 
I  knew  a  terrible  storm  was  going  to  break 
on  me.  Got  left  once,  with  my  canvas  carried 
high  up  in  the  branches  of  a  tree,  just  through 
pure  carelessness;  and  it  served  as  a  lesson 
I'll  never  forget.  Head  in,  Amos;  we're 
going  to  land  there  under  that  leaning  tree. 
Looks  like  a  dandy  camp  site,  with  all  those 
extra  big  trees  around.  And  honest,  fellows, 
I  must  say  I  'm  pretty  near  played  out  with 
fighting  that  pesky  current  all  the  live-long 
day.  Here's  where  we  find  rest.  Hurrah 
for  the  next  camp!  for  every  new  one  is  the 
best,    you    know!" 


CHAPTER  III 

THE  JOY  OF  CAMPING  OUT 

To  tell  the  truth,  none  of  them  showed 
any  signs  of  disappointment  because  the 
labor  of  the  day  was  done.  It  was  no  child's 
play,  urging  the  canoes  against  the  volume 
of  water  the  flowed  down  the  Manistique 
on  the  occasion  of  their  voyage.  And  as 
they  had  come  out  for  fun,  and  not  to  earn 
a  living  with  the  paddle,  the  boys  knew  when 
they  had  enough. 

So,  after  bringing  the  two  boats  ashore, 
they  drew  them  partly  out  of  the  water  at  a 
place  that  seemed  to  have  been  just  designed 
for  that  very  purpose  by  a  kind  Nature,  as 
the  beach  was  shelving,  and  sandy  too,  for  a 
wonder. 

It  was  quickly  decided  just  where  the 
tent  should  be  erected.  There  were  a  few 
general  rules  governing  this  part  of  the  daily 
programme,  which  all  of  them  knew  by  heart. 
First  of  all,  it  was  necessary  to  select  ground 
that  was  not  on  the  dead  level,  so  that  in  case 
of  a  rain  during  the  night,  the  inmates  of  the 


THE  JOY  OF  CAMPING  OUT     33 

tent  would  not  find  themselves  knee-deep 
in  a  flood.  And  with  those  clouds  hovering 
in  the  southwest,  they  felt  it  wise  to  make 
assurance  in  this  respect  doubly  sure  on  this 
particular  night. 

Then  the  camp  must  be  pitched  away  from 
any  sort  of  swampy  patch,  which  could  not 
only  breed  mosquitoes  by  myriads,  but  prove 
malarial  as  well.  And  having  an  eye  to  the 
picturesque,  the  boys  always  saw  to  it  that 
they  could  arrange  the  front  of  the  tent  toward 
the  water.  It  was  so  pleasant  to  look  out, 
and  see  the  little  waves  dancing  in  the  moon- 
light, as  well  as  hear  the  musical  gurgle  so 
dear  to  the  hearts  of  all  those  who  love  the 
great  Outdoors. 

And  last,  but  not  least,  the  tent  must  be 
within  a  reasonable  distance  of  the  two 
canoes.  There  was  no  particular  reason  to 
suspect  that  any  damage  might  happen  to 
the  craft,  either  from  accident,  or  the  ma- 
licious designs  of  evil-minded  persons;  but 
since  they  must  depend  solely  on  the  mos- 
quito boats,  as  they  are  often  called,  to 
carry  them  over  the  course  they  had  charted 
out,  and  the  walking  was  not  at  all  to  their 
liking,  it  behooved  Teddy  and  his  camp  mates 
to  keep  an  eye  on  them  during  the  periods 


34      CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

of  their  resting,  between  sunset  and  dawn. 

Each  one  of  the  three  had  his  regular  duties 
to  perform.  While  these  were  sometimes 
changed  around,  so  that  things  might  not  be- 
come too  monotonous,  still,  as  a  rule,  Teddy 
and  Dolph  saw  to  erecting  the  tent,  while 
Amos  lugged  the  plunder  from  the  canoes, 
packing  it  into  camp,  and  after  that  started 
a  fire. 

Amos  dearly  loved  a  fire.  He  seemed  to 
be  one  of  those  boys  who  can  sit  for  perhaps 
a  solid  hour,  staring  into  the  snapping  blaze, 
with  a  rapt  look  on  his  face ;  just  as  though 
he  saw  pictures  there  that  gave  him  infinite 
satisfaction.  Who  has  not  enjoyed  this  pleas- 
ure to  some  extent,  while  surrounded  by  the 
primitive  forest;  unless  you  have,  you  do 
not  know  one  half  the  joy  of  living? 

And  after  the  fire  was  burning  briskly, 
Amos  was  ready  to  attend  to  almost  any 
thing  that  chanced  to  come  along.  If  either 
of  the  other  boys  happened  to  be  fishing  he 
wanted  to  prepare  the  catch  as  it  was  brought 
in  5  so  that  sometimes  Dolph  used  to  declare 
that  the  trout  flopped  right  from  the  water 
into  the  fryingpanj  the  span  of  their  existence 
between  the  two  was  so  brief. 
But  tonight  they  did  not  think  of  fishing, 


THE  JOY  OF  CAMPING  OUT     35 

though  Dolph  cast  a  wistful  eye  along  the 
brink  of  the  river,  and  mentally  noted  several 
likely  spots  which  he  meant  to  try  in  the 
morning,  if  the  fates  allowed.  But  with  those 
threatening  clouds  spurring  them  on,  it  was 
decided  that  they  had  better  get  supper  over 
with  as  soon  as  possible. 

"No  telling, "  Teddy  had  remarked,  with 
a  grin,  "but  what  we're  in  for  a  stormy  night. 
I  wouldn't  be  surprised  to  find  the  lot  of  us 
holding  on  to  the  guy  ropes  of  this  tent 
around  midnight,  like  all  get-out,  to  keep 
the  bally  thing  from  kiting  up  in  the  trees. 
Then  again,  there  may  be  no  wind,  no  rain, 
nothing  at  all.  You  never  can  tell.  A  fel- 
low has  just  got  to  be  always  prepared  when 
he's  camping  outj  or  sometime  he'll  get 
caught  napping,  and  have  a  healthy  old  time 
hustling  to  save  his  chattels." 

Amos  knew  how  to  cook,  for  he  had  filled 
that  position,  or  rather  as  an  assistant,  in  a 
logging  camp  one  winter.  But  of  course,  the 
rough  fare  the  husky  timber  choppers  need, 
differs  vastly  from  such  food  as  the  sons  of 
rich  men  would  be  apt  to  take  with  them  into 
the  woods;  and  Amos  had  to  learn  a  few  new 
wrinkles,  under  the  tutelage  of  the  others, 
who  were  experienced  hands  at  such  things. 


36       CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

Doubtless  the  woods  boy  had  never  in  all 
his  life  sniffed  coffee  that  had  the  delicious 
aroma  of  that  high-grade  Java;  and  when  it 
came  to  tea,  Amos,  who  had  up  to  this  time 
believed  that  to  be  a  concoction  only  meant 
for  old  maids,  discovered  that  a  cup  of  fra- 
grant Ceylon,  made  in  the  only  proper  way, 
was  simply  unequalled  as  "refresher, "  after 
a  hard  day's  work. 

This  is  the  way  he  went  about  making  it; 
and  any  boy  who  cares  to  get  the  best  out  of 
things,  would  do  well  to  remember  the  simple 
directions. 

It  would  have  been  better  if  the  campers 
had  possessed  a  teapot  made  of  crockery 
but  since  that  could  never  be  thought  of, 
since  it  was  apt  to  be  broken,  and  would 
weigh  too  much,  they  had  to  use  the  next 
best  thing,  which  was  one  made  of  pure 
aluminum. 

Taking  this,  when  the  water  had  come  to  a 
boil  Amos  poured  a  little  in  the  tea  pot,  to 
heat  it,  and  then  dashed  it  out.  Then  he 
put  in  the  right  quantity  of  tea,  which  in 
their  case  for  three  was  a  heaping  teaspoonful; 
after  which  he  poured  a  small  quantity  of  the 
boiling  water  over  it,  and  set  the  pot  near  the 
fire,  where  the  tea  could  "steep"  or  "draw." 


THE  JOY  OF  CAMPING  OUT     37 

Not  more  than  seven  to  ten  minutes  later, 
he  filled  it  with  the  hot  water,  and  the  tea 
was  ready  to  use.  A  very  simple  formula, 
but  essential  if  the  best  results  are  wanted. 

Of  course,  some  readers  might  scoff  at  pay- 
ing so  much  attention  to  small  things;  but 
nearly  every  lad  who  has  camped  out,  as  so 
many  thousands  of  Boy  Scouts  are  now  doing 
for  the  first  time  every  summer,  discovers  that 
half  the  pleasure  of  the  outing  springs  from 
such  little  things  being  properly  done.  No 
efficient  and  painstaking  scout  master  will 
think  of  allowing  his  boys  to  do  things  in  a 
careless,  happy-go-lucky  way.  And  once  they 
learn  the  pleasure  of  knowing  the  right 
methods,  there  is  no  fear  of  them  doing  any- 
thing else.  A  boy  who  knows  better  will 
turn  up  his  nose  at  coffee  improperly  made, 
and  shame  the  careless  cook  into  decent 
methods. 

Besides  the  tea,  the  three  camp  mates 
had  what  Teddy  called  a  "  canoeist's  delight. " 
It  was  really  a  stew  or  " hodge-podge,"  being 
a  mixture  of  several "  left-overs ,;  from  previous 
meals.  There  was  some  corned  beef  hashed 
up,  some  Boston  baked  beans,  a  little  canned 
corn,  and  a  few  pieces  of  bacon,  with  the 
balance  of  the  drippings  that  had  not  been 


38       CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

thrown  away,  but  preserved  in  the  can  the 
corn  had  come  in.  And  with  healthy  appe- 
tites backing  them  up,  the  three  boys  were 
ready  to  agree  that  never  did  any  dish  at  the 
family  table  satisfy  them  one-half  so  well  as 
this  wonderful  concoction. 

The  chances  are,  that  had  it  been  placed 
before  either  Teddy  or  Dolph  when  at  home, 
with  a  snowy  tablecloth  on  the  table,  and 
silver  and  cut  glass  around,  they  would  have 
sniffed  at  it  suspiciously,  and  ordered  it  taken 
away  at  once.  But  it  was  different  here. 
Their  looks  were  more  than  a  few  times 
directed  toward  the  largest  sized  kettle  in 
the  outfit,  which  had  been  used  to  cook  the 
mess,  as  though  their  one  fear  was  whether 
there  would  be  enough  for  a  third  helping 
all  around. 

Teddy  took  considerable  pride  in  that 
aluminum  outfit.  He  had  paid  a  round  sum 
for  it,  too.  It  was  intended  for  six  people, 
because  Teddy  said  that  there  was  never  any 
knowing  how  many  might  sit  around  the 
campfire  on  occasion;  and  being  a  big-hearted 
generous  fellow,  he  was  bent  on  all  having 
enough. 

The  several  kettles  all  nested  in  one  another, 
as  did  the  cups;  and  with  the  numerous  other 
things   comprising   the    complete   outfit,    it 


THE  JOY  OF  CAMPING  OUT     39 

made  an  appearance  to  quite  take  the  eye 
of  a  camper. 

Amos  kept  them  well  shined  too.  He  did 
not  like  to  see  the  aluminum  discolored,  and 
was  forever  polishing  the  kettles  and  coffee 
and  tea  pots  with  a  preparation  that  came 
with  the  outfit. 

"The  biggest  mistake  we  made,"  declared 
Teddy,  as,  having  finished  supper,  they  sat 
around,  helping  Amos  clean  up,  "  was  about 
Amos  here." 

Dolph  looked  up  quickly,  a  puzzled  expres- 
sion on  his  face;  and  even  the  woods  boy 
smiled  as  he  waited  to  hear  the  other  explain; 
though  he  knew  only  too  well  that  Teddy 
Overton  was  too  fond  of  him  to  say  anything 
mean. 

"How  was  that?"  Dolph  asked. 

"Why,  I  should  never  have  thought  of 
allowing  Amos  to  come  along  without  his 
fiddle,  as  he  calls  his  violin,"  the  lumber- 
man's son  said.  "He  thought  it  might  be 
in  the  way  in  the  canoe;  but  I  know  he  misses 
it  terribly.  I've  seen  him  sigh  when  he  sits 
there,  looking  into  the  fire;  and  every  time 
I  've  known  what  was  on  his  mind.  He  found 
his  fingers  just  fairly  itching  to  hold  that  bow 
of  his,  and  work  it  across  the  strings. " 

"Why,  I  didn't   know  Amos  played  the 


40      CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

violin/'  remarked  Dolph,  looking  interested. 

"Well,  he  doesn '  t— only  the  fiddle.  They'd 
laugh  to  have  a  fit  if  you  called  it  anything 
but  that  in  a  logging  camp.  And  Amos  used 
to  be  the  most  popular  boy  all  through  the 
winter,  when  the  men  were  out  in  the  snow 
woods  cutting  timber.  He  had  to  play  for 
them  every  single  night.  They  never  seemed 
to  get  tired  of  hearing  Money  Musk,  Arkansaw 
Traveler,  and  all  those  old  pieces.  And  I 
tell  you,  Amos  can  just  make  his  fiddle  talk. 
He  had  it  along  when  we  spent  several  weeks 
in  these  pine  woods  before;  and  night  after 
night  we  used  to  have  a  regular  musicaie  by 
the  light  of  the  fire.  Why,  I've  seen  the 
little  chipmucks  come  stealing  along,  with  their 
ears  cocked  up,  as  though  they  were  taking  it 
all  in;  and  one  night  a  raccoon  fell  off  the 
branch  of  a  tree,  nearly  on  top  of  Amos.  I 
always  said  that  the  music  had  made  him 
dizzy,  it  was  so  sweet.  But  there,  let's 
drop  that  subject.  It  makes  Amos  home- 
sick, I  guess,  to  remember  how  he  won't  be 
able  to  touch  a  fiddle  again  for  a  whole  month." 

An  hour  later,  and  the  three  boys  were 
taking  things  easy.  The  storm  clouds  did 
not  seem  to  have  crept  up  any  farther  that 
they  could  see,  and  as  yet  it  was  a  question 
no  one  could  decide,  as  to  whether  they  would 


THE  JOY  OF  CAMPING  OUT     41 

be  visited  by  a  storm  during  the  night,  or 
not. 

Amos  has  been  getting  another  armful  of 
wood  to  throw  down  near  the  fire,  so  they 
would  have  plenty,  if  it  was  thought  advisable 
to  keep  the  blaze  going,  for  frequently  these 
Michigan  summer  nights  feel  pretty  cool 
around  about  two  o'clock;  and  it  is  nice,  if 
one  comes  out  to  take  a  look  at  the  weather, 
to  see  a  cheery  fire  going. 

With  the  wood  still  in  his  arms,  the  lumber 
camp  boy  bent  his  head  in  passing  the  others  j 
and  in  a  low  but  very  distinct  voice  uttered 
a  few  sentences  that  gave  both  Teddy  and 
Dolph  a  thrill: 

"Don't  jump,  or  show  any  signs  of  excite- 
ment, either  of  you,"  was  what  Amos  said 
in  a  whisper,  "but  there's  a  man  hiding  be- 
hind those  bushes  just  above  our  boats;  I 
saw  him  duck  down  as  I  came  nearer;  but  I 
never  let  on  the  least  bit  that  I  'd  glimpsed 
him.  Better  just  change  your  sets  a  little,  so 
as  to  be  nearer  your  guns,  boys.  And  when 
you  're  ready,  Teddy,  give  the  word,  solc'n 
grab  up  mine.  I  don't  like  the  looks  of 
things,  that's  what." 

All  of  this  Amos  muttered  while  he  was 
rustling  the  wood,  and  laying  it  down  piece  by 
piece,  in  a  heap  near  the  fire. 


CHAPTER  IV 

AMOS  GIVES  WARNING 

"Wonder  if  he's  alone?"  Teddy  remarked, 
in  a  low  voice  to  Dolph,  as  he  hitched  himself 
along  a  few  inches  nearer  the  spot  where  his 
Marlin  shotgun  rested  against  a  tree. 

"But  what  under  the  sun  can  he  want, 
spying  on  us  this  way?"  asked  the  other,  who 
was  in  the  Michigan  pine  woods  for  the  first 
time,  and  not  so  well  acquainted  with  things 
as  the  lumberman's  son. 

"We'll  soon  find  that  out,"  remarked  the 
other,  in  a  louder  voice,  as  he  saw  that  Dolph 
could  easily  reach  his  own  foreign  made 
weapon.  "Are  you  all  ready,  boys?  Then 
catch  on!" 

Each  of  them  snatched  up  a  gun.  There 
was  not  a  sign  from  the  vicinity  of  the  bushes 
mentioned  by  Amos.  Could  it  be  that  the 
other  had  made  a  blunder,  after  all?  Had 
his  eyes  been  blinded  with  so  much  looking 
into  the  fire,  that  he  mistook  some  stump, 
or  the  remains  of  a  log,  for  a  man? 


AMOS  GIVES  WARNING  43 

Teddy  gained  his  feet,  the  others  following 
his  example.  Three  guns  were  brought  to 
bear,  covering  the  suspected  spot. 

"Come  out!  Show  a  leg;  or  we  might 
take  a  notion  to  send  a  shot  in  there!"  called 
Teddy,  in  a  belligerant  tone,  making  a  threat- 
ening motion  with  his  gun  at  the  same  time. 

Immediately  the  bushes  stirred.  Then  a 
tall  and  brawny  figure  came  into  view,  that 
of  a  red-bearded  man,  clad  in  rough  attire,  as 
became  a  woods  nomad.  In  one  hand  he 
gripped  an  old-fashioned  gun,  something  like 
that  of  Amos'.  But  just  then  he  was  busily 
engaged  in  holding  it  up,  as  he  tried  to  make 
the  Indian  "peace  sign,"  by  exposing  the 
palms  of  both  hands  as  well  as  he  was  able. 

"Hold  on,  boys;  I  wouldn't  do  nawthin' 
rash,  if  I  was  you.  I'm  only  too  willin'  ter 
kim  into  camp.  Jest  snuck  up  ter  find  out 
who  an'  what  ye  war.  Happens  that  thar 
be  lots  o'  hard  characters  aroamin'  those 
woods  hyarabouts;  an'  a  decent  respectable 
man  hes  to  be  putty  keerful  who  he  makes  up 
with.  I  jest  seen  ye  was  all  ter  ther  good, 
when  ye  called  me. " 

He  kept  on  advancing  as  he  spoke  in  this 
strain. 

Teddy  had  seen  many   just  such  rough 


44      CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

looking  men  among  the  scores  of  husky  log- 
gers employed  by  his  father.  He  knew  it 
was  never  safe  to  judge  a  man  by  either  the 
clothes  he  wore,  or  his  general  appearance. 
Some  of  the  hardest  looking  of  them,  upon 
closer  acquaintance,  would  turn  out  to  be  big- 
hearted  fellows,  and  as  honest  as  the  day  was 
long.  Then  again,  there  was  just  as  strong 
a  chance  that  the  same  fellow  would  prove 
to  be  a  scoundrel. 

In  the  woods,  men  have  to  know  each  other 
before  they  become  friends.  Looks  go  for 
little,  and  words  less.  A  man  is  what  he 
proves  himself  to  be. 

Teddy  was  only  a  boy,  and  he  had  not  rub- 
bed up  against  a  hard  world  after  the  fashion 
of  Amos  Simmons.  And  yet  he  certainly 
did  not  like  the  looks  of  this  big  man  any  too 
well.  There  was  that  in  the  other's  face  to 
tell  only  too  plainly  his  love  for  strong  drink; 
and  being  a  strictly  temperance  boy  himself, 
Teddy  had  little  use  for  any  one  who  was 
addicted  to  liquor. 

Besides,  he  could  not  help  but  think  there 
was  something  mighty  suspicious  about  the 
manner  in  which  the  man  was  sneaking  about 
their  camp.  Why  should  he  crawl  up,  and 
lie  there  in  those  bushes,  just  as  though  an- 


AMOS  GIVES  WARNING  45 

xious  to  listen  to  what  the  boys  were  talking 
about?  If,  as  he  said,  he  wished  to  make 
sure  that  they  were  decent  campers,  and  not 
lawless  persons,  why,  a  single  look  at  their 
canoes,  and  the  boys  themselves,  must  have 
told  him  that.  There  would  be  no  need  of  all 
this  caution  j  unless  possibly  the  man  might 
be  a  fugitive  from  justice,  and  suspicious  of 
every  party  he  met,  thinking  it  might  repre- 
sent a  sheriff's  posse  come  to  hunt  for  him. 

The  thought  was  not  particularly  pleasant 
to  Teddy.  He  determined  to  keep  his  Marlin 
within  eas;^  ;each  while  the  giant  was  in  camp; 
and  he  sincerely  hoped  the  stranger  might 
not  tak<»  a  notion  to  remain  with  them  over 
night. 

Perhaps  he  had  had  evil  designs  on  some  of 
the  r  property — the  beautiful  green  canoes 
that  must  look  particularly  inviting  to  any 
one  tired  of  tramping  through  the  endless 
pine  woods;  or  could  it  be  that  lovely  alumi- 
num set  of  cooking  utensils  that  was  piled 
up  in  plain  sight? 

Teddy  noticed  that  the  man  had  his  eyes 
fastened  almost  greedily  on  the  gun  which 
he  himself  was  holding;  why,  he  did  not  even 
seem  to  waste  a  glance  upon  the  more  expen- 
sive weapon  which  Dolph  sported.    And  that 


46       CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

would  seem  to  prove  that  he  knew  a  good 
thing  when  he  saw  it.  Indeed,  since  he 
himself  carried  an  old-fashioned  gun,  no 
doubt  a  substantial  up-to-date  weapon  must 
appeal  to  him,  as  a  hunter. 

The  fellow  saw  that  they  no  longer  made 
any  threatening  motions.  He  showed  his 
cool  assurance  by  dropping  down  on  the 
ground,  not  a  great  distance  away  from  the 
fire;  and  sniffing  the  air  in  a  way  that  could 
have  but  one  meaning.  He  was  hungry,  and 
would  like  to  have  something  to  eat. 

Woods  hospitality  is  no  respecter  of  per- 
sons. If  a  hungry  man  comes  i;»ito  camp  and 
asks  for  a  bite,  common  decency  compels  one 
to  feed  him,  even  though  later  you  expect  to 
order  him  on,  at  the  muzzle  of  your  gun. 

So  Teddy  made  a  motion  to  Amos,  wh'ch 
the  latter  easily  understood.  He  started  to 
make  a  pot  of  coffee,  knowing  that  the  man 
would  never  drink  tea.  Besides,  Amos  de- 
liberately opened  another  can  of  corned  beef, 
which  he  expected  the  giant  would  entirely 
devour,  since  he  must  be  possessed  of  a  tre- 
mendous appetite. 

There  were  crackers,  and  some  left-over 
biscuits  which  Amos  had  cooked  on  the  pre- 
ceding day  in  a  little  make-shift  oven.    All 


AMOS  GIVES  WARNING  47 

these  he  began  to  set  out  before  the  man, 
before  another  word  had  been  said. 

It  was  not  considered  polite  to  ask  any 
questions  before  the  edge  of  the  stranger's 
appetite  had  been  taken  off.  The  first  thing 
Teddy  inquired  was  very  naturally  in  con- 
nection with  his  identity. 

"Would  you  mind  introducing  yourself 
to  us?"  he  asked,  as  he  watched  the  terriffic 
inroads  being  made  on  their  stock  provi- 
sions; while  Dolph  was  figuring  on  just  how 
many  days  their  larder  could  stand  such  an 
onslaught. 

"Me?  I'm  Gabe  Hackett,"  remarked  the 
giant,  with  a  quick  glance  toward  Amos. 
"Used  to  be  logger  onctj  knowed  Amos 
Simmons,  too,  when  I  worked  fur  ther  Wood- 
stock Company  a  cupple  o'  years  back.  I 
been  about  everything  thar  is — trapper  in 
winter  time,  takin'  nigh  a  thousand  muskrat 
pelts  one  season;  timber  cruiser,  a  skir- 
mishing through,  new  fields  lookin'  fur  wood 
that  cud  be  bought  up  by  my  company; 
trader;  spruce  gum  collector;  honey  harvester, 
whar  the  bees  they  lays  up  a  store  o '  the  sweet 
stuff  in  holler  trees.  Reckon  I  'bout  near 
been  all  thar  is  for  a  honest  man  ter  make  a 
livm'  at,  up  hyar  in  the  Michigan  woods." 


48      CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

"And  what  are  you  doing  now?"  asked 
Teddy. 

The  man  started  slightly,  and  gave  the 
other  a  quick  look;  but  evidently  he  was 
reassured  by  the  manner  of  his  questioner, 
who  appeared  to  be  solely  seeking  knowledge, 
for  the  inquiry  was  made  in  good  faith. 

"Right  now  I'm  tackling  a  new  dodge," 
he  chuckled.  "I  wouldn't  tell  everybody, 
'cause  thar  be  some  fellers  as  'd  take  advan- 
tage o'  me;  but  I  kin  see  that  you  ain't  built 
that  way.  Why,  I'm  hunting  roots  jest 
now." 

"Roots!"  echoed  Dolph,  greatly  interested 
because  it  happened  that  he  was  himself  more 
or  less  interested  in  botany,  and  had  even 
gone  out  on  an  expedition  in  search  of  medici- 
nal roots  with  a  professor  of  a  Cincinnati 
college,  whom  his  rich  father  thought  a  good 
bit  of,  and  patronized  to  the  extent  of  sending 
him  to  Europe  each  summer  to  study. 

"That's  it,  younker;  wild  ginseng,  golden 
seal,  an'  all  them  kinder  things  ye  know,  that 
brings  good  money,  if  on'y  ye  happen  on 
whar  they  grows.  Swamps  ain't  too  planty 
up  this  aways;  down  in  Indiana,  now,  whar 
1  kim  from,  why  they  used  to  be  jest  heaps  o* 
them  weeds,  but  in  them  days  nobody  ever 


AMOS  GIVES  WARNING  49 

thort  they  was  wuth  picking  up.  I  hed  an 
ijee  o'  hiking  back  tharf  but  a  letter  tole  me 
the  place  was  jest  cleaned  out  o'  every  root, 
and  that  farmers  was  aplantin'  ginseng  by 
the  acre. " 

At  least  the  information  was  interesting. 
It  might  be  true,  or  on  the  other  hand,  Gabe 
Hackett  was  possibly  inventing  this  plausible 
excuse  for  his  presence  in  that  neck  of  the 
land.  Teddy  went  on  to  ask  a  few  more 
questions. 

"And  have  you  met  with  any  success  at 
all;  p'raps  you  might  show  us  some  of  these 
same  roots.  I've  heard  a  heap  about  them, 
but  wouldn  't  know  one  from  another,  though 
my  chum  here,  Dolph  Bradley,  from  Cincin- 
nati, knows  something  about — what  is  it, 
botany,  or  rootology  or  what?" 

Gabe  shrugged  his  shoulders,  as  he  replied, 
with  his  mouth  half  full  of  beef: 

u  Reckons  ye'd  never  know  what  they  was 
like,  if  so  be  ye  had  ter  depend  on  the  amount 
I  've  been  able  ter  pick  up,  this  far.  Why,  I 
ain't  never  set  eyes  on  a  thing  wuth  takin',  and 
that's  the  truth.  But  I  got  an  agreement  ter 
meet  up  wid  a  feller  by  the  name  o'  Crawley, 
as  sez  he  kin  pilot  me  ter  whar  we  kin  git 
jest  piles  o'  that  wild  ginseng.    Hopes  as  how 


50      CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

he  ain't  mistook  it  fur  somethin'  else;  'cause 
I  needs  ther  money  right  bad.  I  gotter  try 
an'  show  up  at  his  shack  afore  mornin'  too, 
wuss  luck,  else  I'd  like  ter  stay  with  ye,  an' 
heve  another  shake  at  that  prime  coffee  in 
ther  mornin'." 

Teddy  and  Dolph  could  not  help  exchanging 
a  sly  look;  they  were  so  glad  to  hear  this  last 
bit  of  news.  It  would  have  been  very  un- 
pleasant having  such  a  guest  all  night  long; 
and  his  presence  must  have  necessitated  a 
constant  vigil  being  kept.  Indeed,  so  far  as 
that  went,  Teddy  was  already  of  a  mind  that 
they  would  be  wise  to  stand  guard  5  for  the 
very  fact  of  his  being  somewhere  in  the 
vicinity,  possibly  with  a  boon  companion  of 
the  same  stamp,  was  enough  to  make  one 
uneasy  with  regard  to  the  safety  of  their 
belongings. 

Happening  to  glance  toward  Amos,  who 
had  not  been  saying  a  word  all  this  while, 
Teddy  caught  him  winking  one  eye,  and  mak- 
ing a  suggestive  motion  with  his  head.  He 
guessed  instinctively  that  the  woods  boy 
wished  to  find  a  chance  to  speak  with  him 
aside,  where  the  visitor  might  not  hear. 

Dolph  had  taken  what  the  man  had  said 
about  the  roots  as  Gospel  truth.    He  was 


AMOS  GIVES  WARNING  51 

trying  to  squeeze  some  information  out  of 
Gabe;  and  the  other  on  his  part  seemed  en- 
deavoring to  dodge  the  same  by  cautious 
replies,  so  as  not  to  expose  his  blank  ignorance 
in  the  matter  too  much. 

So  Teddy  found  an  opportunity  to  stretch 
himself,  and  get  up  from  his  seat,  as  if  tired 
of  sitting.  He  had  noticed  that  Amos  was 
no  longer  near  the  firej  and  on  glancing 
toward  the  twin  canoes,  saw  him  bending 
over  one  of  the  small,  dandy  craft,  as  though 
examining  some  scratch  that  he  had  noticed 
before. 

Teddy  walked  in  that  direction.  He  knew 
that  he  was  followed  by  the  eyes  of  the  visitor, 
who  must  have  considered  it  a  little  odd  that 
the  boy  persisted  in  carrying  his  gun  along 
with  him  on  such  an  occasion.  But  how- 
ever that  might  be,  Hackett  did  not  see  fit 
to  express  his  disgust  in  words,  though  he  may 
have  frowned  some,  and  gritted  those  strong 
yellow  teeth  of  his  in  an  ugly  manner. 

Reaching  the  vicinity  of  the  canoes,  Teddy 
pretended  to  be  as  deeply  interested  in  the 
supposed  scratch  made  by  a  snag  as  Amos 
was.  But  when  their  heads  came  close  to- 
gether Amos  took  advantage  of  the  oppor- 
tunity to  say  softly: 


51       CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

"A  bad  egg,  that  Gabe  Hackett,  Teddy, 
believe  me!  Tell  you  about  him  after  he's 
shook  the  roost,  and  gone  about  his  way. 
Wouldn't  set  anything  past  him.  Watch 
your  gun,  and  everything  else  while  he's 
around.  Why,  he'd  steal  a  coffeepot  if  he 
had  half  a  chance.  Used  to  be  the  cock  of 
the  walk  once  at  the  lumber  camp;  but  since 
then  he's  slid  down  the  ladder  some,  I'm 
telling  you.  Hunting  ginseng,  he  says;  but 
I'd  rather  believe  he's  bein'  paid  by  that 
Woodstock  Company  to  f oiler  you,  and  find 
out  what  the  son  of  the  president  of  the 
Overton  Lumber  Company  is  doing  up  in 
the  pine  forests;    and  that's  what!" 


CHAPTER  V 

THE   ROOT  HUNTER 

"Well,"  remarked  Teddy,  softly,  "what 
you're  telling  me  doesn't  flabbergast  me  one 
little  bit.  I  just  guessed  that  much  from 
looking  at  the  fellow,  and  hearing  him  talk. 
We'll  keep  an  eye  on  him,  all  right;  and  if 
he  steals  anything  from  our  camp  this  night, 
why,  he's  welcome  to  it,  that's  all.  But 
we'd  better  act  like  we  had  only  come  over 
here  to  examine  this  boat,  and  see  how  bad  a 
mark  that  snag  made  in  the  varnished  side. 
He's  got  his  eye  on  us  all  the  while;  I  can 
feel  it." 

"Righto!"  replied  the  woods  boy,  cheer- 
fully, his  mind  relieved,  since  he  had  given 
his  friend  and  employer  proper  warning,  so 
that  the  burden  was  no  longer  on  his  shoulders. 

A  few  minutes  later  they  walked  back  to 
the  fire,  engaged  in  discussing  whether  the 
snag  "bite"  would  prove  serious  at  some  future 
time;  and  if  so,  should  they  cover  the  spot 
with  a  piece  of  canvas,  brought  along  for 
mending  purposes. 


54       CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

Hackett  watched  them  suspiciously,  and 
seemed  to  strain  his  hearing  in  the  endeavor 
to  make  out  what  they  were  saying.  He 
seemed  relieved  upon  catching  the  burden 
of  their  talk,  as  though  it  proved  that  they 
had  not  been  discussing  him  while  away. 

By  the  time  he  finished  eating,  there  was 
nothing  more  in  sight.  Dolph  was  of  the 
opinion  that  the  giant's  capacity  was  of  such 
an  unlimited  nature,  that  if  given  an  oppor- 
tunity he  could  have  lessened  their  stock 
of  provisions  alarmingly,  before  calling  a 
halt. 

"  Must  say  that  I  never  seed  such  a  dandy 
outfit  as  ye  boys  kerry,"  Gabe  was  pleased 
to  remark,  as  he  looked  enviously  around 
him;  "canoes  that  jest  take  me  eye;  guns 
sech  as  I  never  handled  in  all  my  life;  and 
ther  cutest  cookin'  things  as  was  ever  got  up. 
Must  take  a  heap  o'  hard  cash  ter  buy  sech 
things.  An7  thet  coffee,  say,  will  I  ever 
forgit  it?  Like  as  not  the  taste '11  stick  with 
me  forever.  Ain't  nawthin'  hardly  I  wouldn't 
do,  if  so  be  I  could  aim  the  money  ter  buy 
sich  coffee.  P  'raps  ye  wouldn  't  mind  leavm* 
me  the  name,  an '  fust  dollar  I  find  rollin'  up 
hill,  hang  me  if  I  don 't  invest  the  same  in  it. 
I  could  do  with  little  else,  if  I  got  a  drink  like 


THE  ROOT  HUNTER  55 

that.     It  beats  any  old  pizen  whiskey  I  ever 
swallered." 

"That's  where  you're  right,  Gabe!"  re- 
marked Teddy,  quickly;  "and  if  a  lot  of  our 
men  only  thought  the  same,  and  carried  it 
out,  they'd  be  better  off  for  it.  Perhaps 
you  've  guessed  it  before,  but  I  might  as  well 
tell  you  that  I'm  Teddy  Overton,  the  only 
son  of  the  president  of  the  lumber  company 
that 's  a  rival  of  the  one  you  used  to  work  for. " 

"Yep,  I  guessed  it,  an'  why — 'cause  in  the 
fust  place  ye 're  the  image  o'  yer  daddy;  and 
then  agin,  I  see  ye  onct  at  the  store,"  the 
visitor  went  on  to  say. 

Then,  although  he  had  known  this  fact  from 
the  start,  was  there  some  hidden  reason  why 
Gabe  had  not  said  a  word  about  it? 

They  went  on  talking  for  a  while,  the  man 
evidently  in  no  hurry  to  leave  his  comfortable 
seat  in  order  to  once  more  take  up  his  walking 
through  the  pine  forest. 

Teddy  could  not  but  notice  how  often 
those  greedy  eyes  rested  on  his  gun;  or  it 
might  be  something  else  belonging  to  the 
outfit.  Plainly  Gabe  Hackett  was  wishing 
some  great  good  fortune  might  throw  a  chance 
in  his  way  to  gain  possession  of  some  of  these 
things. 


56      CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

And  Amos  thought  he  saw  more  than  that, 
as  he  continued  to  watch  the  burly  former 
logger  out  of  the  tail  of  his  eye.  He  had  just 
mentioned  to  Teddy  a  suspicion  that  was 
creeping  through  his  mind;  and  sitting  there, 
the  boy  kept  following  it  up,  trying  to  make 
ends  meet,  yet  never  seeming  quite  able  to 
do  so. 

He  wondered  why  Gabe  should  look  toward 
Dolph  so  many  times,  and  always  with  a 
sudden  little  tightening  of  the  lips.  If  it 
had  been  Teddy  now,  Amos  could  understand, 
and  believe  that  the  unprincipled  man  might 
be  plotting  some  harm  to  the  son  of  the  lumber- 
man who  defied  the  Trust;  but  Dolph  was  a 
stranger  in  these  Michigan  woods,  his  home 
being  in  faraway  Cincinnati. 

Could  it  be  barely  possible,  Amos  won- 
dered, that  this  rough  man  knew  about  the 
father  of  Dolph  being  a  man  of  almost  un- 
limited money,  one  of  the  big  millionaire 
manufacturers  of  the  thriving  city  on  the 
bank  of  the  Ohio;  and  was  he  even  daring 
to  lay  some  bold  plan,  looking  to  kidnaping 
the  boy,  to  hold  him  for  a  ransom? 

Lots  of  people  would  say  that  such  things, 
while  being  done  frequently  in  Italy,  Greece, 
and  such  Old  World  countries,  were  just  im- 


THE  ROOT  HUNTER  57 

possible  in  up-to-date  free  America.  Why- 
even  Amos  knew  it  was  just  to  the  contrary. 
He  read  the  papers  every  chance  he  could  get; 
and  many  a  time  had  he  discoverd  where 
Italians,  or  others,  had  taken  to  these  methods, 
with  the  idea  of  forcing  people  with  money  to 
divide  with  them. 

There  was  that  case  of  the  Cudahy  boy,  for 
instance;  and  numerous  others  of  like  boldness. 
Oh!  no,  such  things  are  not  at  all  confined  to 
Europe.  They  are  being  planned  and  exe- 
cuted right  in  our  own  country,  every  week. 
The  only  question  that  staggered  Amos  was 
how  such  a  small-minded  fellow  as  this  giant, 
could  ever  engineer  a  scheme  like  this.  But 
perhaps  he  may  have  backing  they  knew 
nothing  of;  and  that  there  were  wheels 
within  wheels.  Dolph  might  be  made  to 
disappear,  just  to  make  it  look  as  though 
Teddy  Overton's  abduction  were  in  the  ordi- 
nary nature  of  things;  when  in  truth  it  was 
all  being  done  to  force  the  lumber  company 
to  seek  new  fields,  and  leave  this  region  to 
the  opposition. 

So  Amos  was  wrestling  with  a  pretty  big 
proposition  as  he  sat  there  by  the  fire,  listening 
to  the  man  talk,  and  hoping  to  pick  up  a  few 
little  clues  from  what  he  said,  that  might 
lead  to  disclosures. 


58      CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

It  all  came  back  to  Amos  later  on,  under 
entirely  different  conditions;  to  give  him  new 
chances  for  anxiety. 

The  hour  was  getting  rather  late,  and  still 
Hackett  lingered  on,  loth  to  once  more  con- 
tinue his  lonely  tramp.  He  said  he  was  wait- 
ing for  the  moon  to  rise;  but  even  after  the  bat- 
tered remnant  of  the  heavenly  luminary  put 
in  an  appearance  over  the  trees  across  the 
river,  he  made  no  movement  looking  to  im- 
mediate departure. 

"Why  do  you  suppose  he  keeps  hanging 
on  so?"  Teddy  managed  to  ask  Amos,  aside, 
as  they  chanced  to  enter  the  tent  together  for 
some  purpose. 

"P'raps  he  wants  you  to  ask  him  to  have 
another  little  snack?"  suggested  the  woods 
boy,  with  a  chuckle. 

"Well,  he'll  wait  a  long  time,  then,  I  tell 
you,"  complained  Teddy.  "Why,  that  fel- 
low could  eat  us  out  of  house  and  home  in 
three  days,  and  then  not  half  try.  Did  you 
ever  see  such  a  mouth?  He  takes  a  bite  that 
would  be  three  to  me. " 

"Huh!  I  cooked  for  him  one  winter," 
remarked  Amos,  as  though  that  circumstance 
ought  to  tell  how  much  he  knew  concerning 
the  capacity  lof  Big  Gabe  to  stow  away  pro- 


THE  ROOT  HUNTER  59 

visions.  "Kept  us  busy,  right  along,  too, 
I'm  promising  you.  But  we'd  better  get 
outside  again;  he's  that  slick  he  might  pull 
the  wool  over  Dolph's  eyes,  and  make  away 
with  a  package  of  our  coffee. " 

When  they  came  out,  greatly  to  their  delight 
they  found  that  Gabe  was  on  his  feet,  stretch- 
ing his  six  feet  three. 

"Hate  ter  do  hit  the  wust  kind,  boys," 
he  was  remarking.  "You  all  hev  been  so 
kind  to  me,  I'd  like  ter  stop  over  jest  till 
mawnin',  so'ds  ter  hev  another  drink  o'  that 
fine  coffee.  Don't  s'pose  now,  he  could 
spare  a  feller  one  leetle  cupful  o'  the  same? 
I'd  take  it  handsome  now,  sure  I  would. 
An'  it'd  help  me  git  over  the  miles  I  gotter 
go  afore  mawnin';  jest  ter  smell  it  every 
little  while 'd  help  right  sum. " 

Teddy  jumped  over  to  the  mess  chest. 
There  was  a  can  full  of  the  ground  coffee  in 
this;  and  besides,  he  calculated  that  they  had 
an  abundance,  and  to  spare.  Even  if  they 
had  to  go  on  short  rations,  if  the  giving  of  a 
cup  of  the  pulverized  berry  from  the  South 
Seas  could  help  hurry  Gabe  off,  he  was  willing 
to  endure  the  privation. 

And  so  he  found  a  paper  bag  to  pour  the 
fragrant  stuff  in.     When  he  handed  this  over 


60      CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

to  Gabe  the  big  ex-logger  sniffed  at  it  with 
what  was  intended  to  be  an  expression  of 
bliss  on  his  bearded  face,  rolling  his  eyes  at 
the  same  time  heavenward  to  signify  his 
thanks. 

"That's  the  stuff,  young  fellers!  Never 
seed  the  like,  give  ye  my  word  for  hit.  I'm 
glad  ye  writ  me  the  name  o'  the  brand,  an' 
tells  me  whar  I  kin  git  the  same.  I  'm  agoin' 
ter  hev  that  coffee  arter  this,  or  know  the 
reason  why." 

He  folded  the  paper  bag,  and  thrust  it  in 
the  outer  pocket  of  his  coat;  though  Amos 
afterwards  remembered  seeing  the  corner  of 
the  packet  sticking  out. 

Shortly  afterwards  Gabe  took  his  departure. 
He  gave  one  last  look  around  ere  doing  so. 
It  might  be  to  impress  the  appearance  of  all 
those  fine  outing  arrangements  in  his  memory, 
so  that  he  could  recall  them  at  some  future 
time,  when  sitting  at  his  lone  camp  fire;  or  on 
the  other  hand,  possibly  he  wanted  to  know 
just  how  the  camp  was  laid  out,  for  some  other 
purpose,  not  so  honorable. 

But  the  boys  were  glad  to  be  rid  of  him. 

"Hope  we  never  set  eyes  on  Gabe  again," 
remarked  Teddy,  after  they  had  seen  him 
pass  out  of  sight,  up  the  river. 


THE  ROOT  HUNTER  61 

"Well,  since  he  seems  to  be  heading  in  the 
same  direction  we're  bound,  we  might  run 
across  the  man  again, "  remarked  Dolph. 
"But  honest  now,  between  us,  Teddy,  I 
couldn't  swallow  all  he  said  about  hunting 
roots.  You  see,  the  man  doesn't  even  have 
an  idea  what  wild  ginseng  looks  like;  and  as 
for  golden  seal,  he  would  pass  it  by  every 
time,  judging  from  some  remarks  he  made. 
Now,  what  would  such  an  ignorant  man 
want,  hunting  valuable  medicinal  roots  up 
here?" 

"But  if  not  that,  what  is  he  after  then?" 
queried  Teddy  with  a  frown  on  his  young 
face,  as  though  a  faint  suspicion  had  even 
begun  to  trouble  him. 

"  He  knows  you  are  the  son  of  Mr.  Overton, 
the  president  of  the  lumber  company;  and 
he  admits  that  he  used  to  work  for  the  oppo- 
sition. Perhaps  he's  still  in  their  employ, 
Teddy;  perhaps  he  means  to  do  something 
to  you,  something  that  will  give  his  company 
the  whiphand  over  your  father." 

It  was  Amos  who  said  this;  but  Teddy 
laughed  at  such  an  idea.  He  declared  that 
the  most  they  had  to  fear  from  Big  Gabe  was 
his  thievish  propensity.  Possibly  he  might  be 
sorely  tempted  to  come  back,  and  try  to  loot 


62      CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

the  camp.  His  actions  had  shown  them  that 
he  was  envious  of  the  fine  guns  they  carried, 
as  well  as  all  those  other  things,  the  like  of 
which  the  man  had  never  seen  before. 

"I'm  going  to  put  in  a  couple  of  shells  of 
the  finest  bird  shot  I've  got,"  he  went  on  to 
say,  grimly;  "and  whichever  one  is  on  duty 
must  carry  my  Marlin.  Then,  if  our  friend 
does  come  creeping  around,  we  '11  pretend  that 
we  think  it  a  bear  or  a  cat,  and  blaze  away. 
He'll  get  his  jacket  dusted,  and  limp  a  little, 
maybe;  but  he  won't  try  that  dodge  again, 
I  reckon." 

"A  good  idea,"  declared  Dolph;  and  even 
Amos  grinned;  for  in  imagination  he  could 
see  that  ill-natured  giant,  who  had  always 
been  the  bully  of  the  logging  camp,  going 
limping  away,  grunting  with  the  pain  of  the 
fine  shot  that  Teddy  kept  for  summer  wood- 
cock shooting  in  the  brush,  where  close  shots 
were  the  rule. 

They  sat  down  to  talk  a  little  before  making 
arrangements  for  the  night;  because  both 
Teddy  and  Dolph  were  curious  to  hear  what 
the  woods  boy  knew  concerning  the  past 
tempestuous  life  of  Big  Gabe. 

And  Amos,  on  his  part,  was  quite  willing 
to  tell.    His  recollections  of  the  giant  were 


THE  ROOT  HUNTER  63 

not  at  all  pleasing,  for  doubless  the  boy  must 
have  more  than  a  few  times  felt  the  heavy 
hand  of  the  man  who,  for  some  years,  had 
been  reckoned  the  biggest  bully  among  the 
Woodstock  loggers. 

As  they  chatted,  they  kept  their  eyes  con- 
constantly  on  the  alert )  just  as  though 
Hackett  would  ever  think  of  creeping  back 
while  the  camp  mates  were  on  the  alert, 
rather  than  wait  until  they  had  entered  the 
tent  to  rest. 


CHAPTER  VI 

EVIDENCE   THAT   TALKED 

"Now  tell  us  about  Gabe,  and  how  he 
came  to  be  run  out  of  the  Woodstock  camp?" 
asked  Teddy. 

"Why,  it  was  this  way,"  began  Amos, 
without  the  slightest  hesitation*  "he'd 
been  known  as  the  bully  for  years  and  years. 
Many 's  the  man  he  knocked  down,  and  beat 
up  terrible  like,  just  for  crossing  him.  They 
were  that  afraid  of  Gabe,  that  when  he  told  a 
silly  story  everybody  just  roared.  And  I  take 
it  there  ain  't  anything  to  beat  that,  to  show 
how  one  man  lords  it  over  twenty.  But  his  time 
came,"  and  Amos  snickered,  as  though  even 
the  recollection  of  what  he  had  witnessed 
gave  him  the  greatest  pleasure. 

"  I  suppose  a  bigger  man  than  Gabe  came  to 
camp;  and  when  set  on,  just  up  and  took 
him  unawares?"  suggested  Dolph. 

"Took  him  unawares  goes,"  replied  the 
other,  "but  as  for  the  rest,  just  listen.  You 
saw  how  Gabe,  he  looked  at  me  lots  of  times 
uneasy  like.     Guess  he  knew  I'd  be  telling 


EVIDENCE  THAT  TALKED         65 

you  all  about  his  fall,  after  he  went  away. 
Mebbe  that  helped  to  hurry  him  off,  too, 
because  I  guess  he  ain't  never  gotten  over 
being  touchy  on  that  sore  spot.  Notice 
that  he'd  had  his  nose  broke,  didn't  you?" 

"  Why,  yes,  now  that  you  mention  it,  there 
was  a  crook  to  it.  Did  the  new  bully  do 
that  when  he  hit  Gabe?"  asked  Teddy. 

"  It  was  like  this, "  continued  Amos,  soberly. 
"We  had  a  little  Swede  named  Larz,  the 
quietest  and  most  peaceful  man  you  ever 
saw.  Nobody  had  ever  seen  him  lift  a  hand 
to  hit  anything.  He  used  to  do  whatever  he 
was  told  by  the  rest,  and  since  they  took  him 
to  be  just  a  good-natured  fellow,  why  I  guess 
they  imposed  on  him  a  heap. 

"Well, one  night  Gabe, who  had  been  drink- 
ing, and  was  just  wild  for  a  row  with  some- 
body, after  trying  all  he  could  to  get  some  of 
the  men  to  fight,  picks  on  Larz.  I  think  he 
struck  him,  and  said  something  that  the 
Swede  didn  't  like  one  little  bit.  Just  how  he 
did  it,  nobody  ever  knew.  They  heard  the 
sound,  and  saw  Big  Gabe  measure  his  length 
on  the  floor,  his  head  striking  so  hard  that  it 
must  have  made  him  see  stars.  He  started 
to  get  up,  and  was  knocked  flat  again.  And 
before  Larz  was  done,  he'd  made  the  big 


66      CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

coward,  who  turned  out  to  be  only  a  bag  of 
wind,  apologize  to  him  before  the  whole 
shouting  crowd. 

"And  after  that,  of  course,  Gabe  never 
dared  stay  in  camp  a  day.  And  he  quit  the 
company  too.  They  called  Larz  the  Terrible 
Swede  after  that;  but  the  man  became  just 
as  quiet  as  ever,  and  refused  to  take  the  place 
vacated  by  the  bully.  That  was  about  two 
years  ago;  and  I  haven't  set  eyes  on  Gabe 
till  tonight.  But  I  did  hear  he  was  doing 
all  sorts  of  things,  from  shooting  game  out 
of  season,  to  netting  bass  when  the  game  and 
fish  warden  was  far  away  and  selling  'em  in 
the  towns.  And  now  you  know  all  about 
him,  as  far  as  I  can  tell  you." 

Of  course,  both  the  other  boys  laughed 
heartily  at  the  idea  of  that  husky  logger  being 
whipped  by  a  mild-mannered,  inoffensive 
man  half  his  size. 

"These  Swedes  can  go  the  limit  when  they 
get  their  mad  up,"  Teddy  remarked.  "We 
have  a  number  working  for  us;  and  such 
dare-devil  fellows  you  never  saw.  Why,  they 
think  nothing  of  risking  their  lives  in  a  log 
jam;  and  hardly  a  year  passes  but  what  a 
number  of  serious  accidents  do  occur  to  them 
at  one  time  or  another.     Sometimes  it's  a 


EVIDENCE  THAT  TALKED        67 

tree  falls  on  a  man;  then  again  a  slip  of  the 
ax  cuts  his  foot  terribly;  and  in  spring,  when 
the  freshet  comes,  and  the  logs  start  down, 
you  just  ought  to  see  what  goes  on.  They  're 
a  hard  lot,  it's  true,  but  a  braver  batch  of 
men  it  'd  be  impossible  to  find. " 

"I'd  have  given  a  lot  to  have  had  a  picture 
of  that  little  scrap, "  remarked  Dolph,  who  was 
fond  of  taking  snapshots  with  a  kodak  he 
carried. 

"Well,"  continued  Amos,  "you'd  have 
had  a  fine  chance  at  the  time  little  Larz  was 
sitting  on  Gabe,  and  pounding  him  for  keeps, 
until  he  made  him  roar  out  that  he'd  had 
enough,  and  took  back  everything  he'd  said. 
I'll  never  forget  it.  Gabe  won't  either, 
though  he  never  went  back  to  get  satisfaction 
being  afraid  that  there  were  too  many  of  that 
logging  crew  who  had  a  bone  to  pick  with 
him. " 

"Yes,  and  I  suppose  nine  out  of  ten  be- 
lieved they  could  down  him,  after  the  little 
Swede  had  shown  them  the  way,"  added 
Dolph. 

"Now,  about  keeping  an  eye  on  our  stuff 
tonight;  how  had  we  better  arrange  it?" 
asked  Teddy. 

"I  could  stay  up  on  the  watch,"  remarked 
Amos. 


68       CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

"Yes,  one-third  of  the  time,  and  that's 
all,"  the  other  quickly  observed.  "You  had 
it  even  harder  than  either  of  us,  paddling 
against  that  current;  because  there  were  two 
in  our  boat  to  change  about.  And  you've 
got  to  have  some  rest,  as  well  as  us.  So  here 
is  what  we'll  do;  divide  up  the  time  between 
now  and  dawn  into  three  parts.  I'll  stand 
guard  the  first  watch;  then  I'll  wake  up 
Amos,  and  he'll  surely  promise  to  give  you 
a  punch  when  his  time  is  out.  Get  that, 
fellows?" 

" Suits  me  all  right,"  declared  Dolph; 
"  and  I  don 't  want  any  funny  business,  either, 
about  getting  me  up.  I  'd  be  as  mad  as  a  wet 
hen  if  Amos  lets  me  sleep  on,  and  in  that  way 
cheated  me  out  of  my  rights.  We  agreed 
when  we  started  out  on  this  trip  it  was  going 
to  be  share  and  share  alike,  and  no  favors 
shown.  Shall  we  crawl  in  now,  Teddy,  and 
leave  you  to  yourself?" 

"Yes;  but  remember  to  take  my  gun, 
everybody.  He  seemed  to  like  it  better  than 
yours,  Dolph,"  the  lumberman's  son  went 
on  to  remark. 

"Showed  his  good  sense,  that's  all;  I'm 
not  stuck  on  this  gun  half  so  much  as  I  used 
to  be.    If  it  goes  back  on  me  again,  I'll 


EVIDENCE  THAT  TALKED         69 

throw  it  away  after  this  trip,  and  get  one  like 
yours,  Teddy.  Come  on,  Amos,  it's  us  to 
snatch  a  few  winks,  while  our  brave  chum 
mounts  guards  over  our  possessions." 

Dolph  was  undeniably  tired  enough  to 
welcome  the  chance  for  some  hours'  sleep. 
And  it  seemed  to  him  that  his  head  had 
hardly  hit  the  pillow,  which  consisted  of  a  bag 
filled  with  the  same  kind  of  stuff  that  con- 
stituted their  beds,  hemlock  browse,  stripped 
by  hand  from  its  attendant  stems,  than  he 
lost  consciousness. 

He  was  suddenly  aroused  by  a  tremendous 
bang;  and  although  for  the  moment  Dolph 
found  himself  unable  to  place  himself,  some 
sort  of  intuition  caused  him  to  feel  for  his 
gun,  and  crawl  hastily  out  of  the  tent. 

Amos  had  been  just  ahead  of  him,  and  was 
on  his  feet  as  Dolph  appeared. 

"What  is  it;  more  cats  invading  us?" 
demanded  the  latter,  when  he  saw  the  figure  of 
Teddy  just  beyond  the  fire,  in  the  act  of  half 
raising  his  gun,  as  if  tempted  to  shoot  again. 

The  other  was  laughing  as  if  there  might 
be  something  of  a  joke. 

"No  cats  this  time,"  he  replied;  "unless 
you  choose  to  call  two-legged  thieves  by 
that  name." 


70      CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

"  Whew!  did  he  come  back,  then?"  gasped 
Dolph,  as  he  suddenly  remembered  their 
unwelcome  visitor  of  the  earlier  evening,  and 
the  suspicion  they  had  entertained  as  to  his 
thievish  propensities. 

"I  heard  a  sound  as  of  somebody  or  some 
thing  creeping  through  the  bushes,"  declared 
Teddy,  "  and  making  as  sure  as  I  could  of  the 
direction,  I  let  one  shot  go." 

"Did  he  yelp?"  demanded  Amos,  grinning 
as  he  remembered  the  fine,  dust-like  shot 
which  the  owner  of  the  repeating  gun  had  said 
he  meant  to  use. 

"Well,  I  didn't  hear  anything  like  that," 
admitted  Teddy.  "If  he  got  a  dose  he  sure 
knew  how  to  keep  a  tight  upper  lip.  But  I 
felt  certain  I  heard  a  patter  of  feet  on  the 
pine  needles,  like  somebody  scooting  off  in  a 
big  hurry.  I  was  just  thinking  I  'd  like  to  give 
him  another  shot,  when  you  came  out  and 
interrupted  me.  Now  it's  too  late,  because 
he's  gone." 

"But  you  ain't  sure  of  it,  are  you?"  asked 
Dolph. 

"Well,  I'm  just  dead  certain  that  I  heard 
those  sounds;  but  of  course  it  might  have 
been  some  sort  of  animal  pattering  away. 


EVIDENCE  THAT  TALKED         71 

Tell  you  what,  we'll  light  the  lantern,  and 
take  a  look  over  there  where  I  fired. " 

"  Oh!  do  you  expect  to  find  drops  of  blood, 
or  anything  like  that?"  asked  Dolph,  with  a 
little  catch  in  his  voice. 

"Hardly,  but  we  might  be  able  to  run 
across  a  trail ;  and  Amos  here  is  a  pretty  good 
hand  at  reading  signs.  Get  some  clothes  on, 
both  of  you 5  then  we'll  take  our  lantern, 
and  see." 

Apparently,  then,  Teddy  must  have  con- 
siderable faith  in  the  theory  he  had  advanced, 
since  he  was  ready  to  put  it  to  the  test  of  an 
examination.  So  both  Dolph  and  the  woods 
boy  hastened  to  get  their  missing  garments, 
not  being  as  warmly  clad  as  they  would  like, 
when  it  came  to  standing  around  in  that 
night  air. 

Presently  they  made  their  reappearance 
again,  and  better  prepared  to  undertake  the 
adventure  which  Teddy  had  proposed.  He 
led  them  in  a  direct  line,  as  though  he  had 
been  taking  exact  note,  and  knew  where  to 
look. 

"See  here,  you  can  see  where  my  charge  of 
shot  cut  through  this  lower  limb  of  this  tree, 
and  sent  a  lot  of  green  stuff  to  the  ground. 
But  I'm  a  little  afraid,  fellows,  that  we're 


72      CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

going  to  have  some  trouble  locating  anything 
like  footprints;  because,  you  see,  the  ground's 
as  hard  as  all  get-out  around  here. " 

Ten  seconds  later,  and  Teddy  came  to  a 
stop. 

"Now,  as  near  as  I  could  say, "  he  remarked, 
"this  ought  to  be  about  where  he  was  at  the 
time  I  fired .     See  anything ,  Amos  ? ' ' 

Carrying  the  lantern,  the  woods  boy  was 
carefully  examining  the  ground.  He  scratched 
his  head  as  he  looked  up. 

"Nothing  doing  yet,  as  I  can  see,"  he 
remarked.  "Just  as  you  said,  Teddy,  the 
ground  is  as  hard  as  the  mischief  right  here. 
I  might  come  on  some  sign  where  p'raps  he 
broke  off  a  twig  when  he  hurried  so,  to  get 
away.  That's  what  I'm  really  looking  for 
right  now;  something  that'll  tell  there  was  a 
sneaker  here." 

"Hope  you  find  it,  then,  Amos,"  said 
Teddy,  who  was  more  or  less  chagrined  be- 
cause he  had  not  been  able,  thus  far,  to  ad- 
vance the  necessary  proof,  in  order  to  show 
he  had  not  been  mistaken  in  his  belief;  and 
that  it  really  was  a  man,  probably  Hackett, 
whose  retreating  footsteps  he  claimed  to  have 
heard,  after  firing  at  random. 

Amos  did  not  give  up  so  easily.    He  seemed 


EVIDENCE  THAT  TALKED         73 

to  just  feel  that  there  should  be  some  sort  of 
evidence  at  hand,  if  one  did  not  tire  hunting 
for  the  same.  And  so,  holding  his  lantern 
low,  he  kept  looking  to  the  right  and  to  the 
left. 

All  at  once  the  others  heard  him  give  an 
exclamation  j  and  Teddy  felt  that  there  was 
something  akin  to  delight  in  the  cry. 

"Found  the  trail,  have  you,  Amos?"  he 
demanded    joyously. 

"No  trail,  but  something  better,"  came 
the  answer.  "  Come  here,  both  of  you.  What 
do  you  make  that  out  to  be?  " 

He  pointed  to  some  object  on  the  ground. 
It  looked  like  a  bunch  of  paper.  Teddy  bent 
down  and  secured  possession  of  the  thing, 
which  he  instantly  raised  to  his  nose,  as 
though  anxious  to  make  doubly  sure. 

"Some  of  our  coffee,  by  the  great  horn 
spoon!"  he  exclaimed,  "and  since  we  know 
who  carried  this  away,  stuck  in  his  pocket, 
why,  it  ain't  a  hard  thing  to  guess  now,  is  it, 
that  Big  Gabe  came  back,  meaning  to  take 
away  either  one  of  our  canoes,  or,  failing 
that,  my  dandy  repeater  here.  Well,  I  only 
hope  he  carried  off  some  of  the  charge  that 
was  in  the  barrel  of  this  same  gun. " 

Solemnly  the  package  was  passed  around, 


74      CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

each  of  the  others  smelling  of  it,  and  then 
nodding  an  assent  to  the  explanation  advanced 
by  Teddy  Overton.  The  pretended  hunter 
for  wild  ginseng  had  come  back,  filled  with  a 
desire  to  lay  hands  on  more  of  that  delicious 
coffee,  or  some  of  the  other  possessions  of 
the  camp  mates. 


CHAPTER  VII 

DOLPH  MEETS   SOMETHING 

After  they  broke  camp  on  the  following 
morning,  the  three  boys  looked  back  to  the 
spot  where  the  tent  had  lately  been  pitched, 
and  exchanged  remarks  concerning  the  strange 
happenings  of  the  night. 

"  One  thing  I  'm  glad  for?  "  remarked  Dolph; 
"that  storm  concluded  it  didn't  have  a  call 
in  this  direction.  Thought  I  heard  the  far- 
away rumble  of  thunder  once  or  twice,  when 
it  was  my  turn  on  duty;  but  I  may  have  been 
mistaken.  Anyhow,  it's  a  pretty  enough 
morning  to  eat." 

" Oh!  we 've  got  plenty  to  be  thankful  for, " 
laughed  Teddy,  who  was  feeling  extra  joyous 
it  seemed.  "Just  think,  if  that  big  black- 
browed  pirate  had  chosen  to  stay  over  with 
us,  what  a  hole  he'd  have  made  in  our  grub 
chest  this  morning.  As  it  is,  we  got  off  cheap 
by  bribing  him  to  go,  with  that  cup  of  ground 
coffee  j  and  as  sure  as  you  live,  we  even  got 
that  back  again!" 

"Do  you  think  we'll  make  the  lake  by  night 


76      CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

time?"  asked  Dolph,  knowing  that  his  chum 
carried  a  little  chart  of  the  peninsula  about 
him,  and  was  making  good  use  of  the  same  in 
planning  their  various  moves. 

"Ought  to,"  Teddy  replied,  thoughtfully, 
"unless  we  peg  out  too  soon,  with  this  hard 
business  of  playing  the  spruce  blade.  I  can 
tell  better  by  noon.  If  we  reach  that  point 
in  front  of  the  wild  cranberry  marsh,  we  '11  be 
more  than  half  way  there,  and  should  be  able 
to  cover  the  balance  easy  enough. " 

"  I  hope  we  do, "  Dolph  went  on  to  say. 

"Now,  you're  thinking  of  trying  those 
flies  you  brought  along,  on  the  bass  they  say 
inhabit  that  same  lake,  and  of  whopping 
size  too, "  Teddy  jokingly  remarked. 

"Oh!  I  acknowledge  the  corn,"  the  other 
admitted,  candidly;  "because  I  do  happen 
to  be  mighty  fond  of  fishing  at  any  and  all 
times.  If  I  can  toss  a  fly,  and  get 'em,  so 
much  the  better;  but  if  they  won't  whiff  at 
the  feathered  lure,  why,  then  I  turn  to  a  frog, 
a  minnow,  artificial  bait,  a  trolling  spoon, 
and  last,  but  not  always  least,  the  worm. 
I'm  bound  to  get  fish  some  way  or  other,  if 
they're  to  be  had." 

"I  wonder  if  we'll  meet  up  with  him 
again?"  mused  Teddy,  as  he  sank  his  paddle 


DOLPH  MEETS  SOMETHING       77 

deep  into  the  running  water  of  the  Manistique, 
and  started  the  canoe  up  stream  with  a 
steady  muscular  push. 

Meaning  our  big  friend,  Gabe?"  inquired 
the  other,  following  suit  on  his  side  of  the 
boat;  while  Amos  was  already  some  forty 
feet  in  the  van,  being  a  most  accomplished 
waterdog,  for  he  had  spent  half  of  his  life 
swimming  and  paddling  around. 

"Yes,  Gabe.  You  see  he  headed  up- 
stream, and  that  would  mean  he  meant  to 
keep  on  the  same  course  we  are  following. 
I'd  rather  it  was  the  other  way;  for  after  my 
shooting  at  him,  I  'm  afraid  he  11  feel  uglier 
than  ever  toward  us. " 

"Let  him,"  remarked  the  good-natured 
Dolph,  easily;  "we've  done  nothing  to  him. 
Anybody  would  have  a  right  to  bang  away, 
if  they  thought  a  bear  or  a  cat  was  sneaking 
about  the  camp.  And  besides,  he  told  us  he 
was  going  off;  so  he  couldn't  very  well  make 
out  that  we  knew  it  was  him  creeping  back. 
For  one  I'm  going  to  forget  all  about  Gabe, 
except  that  at  night-times  perhaps  I'll  re- 
member to  keep  one  eye  open  for  intruders 
that  ain't  cats." 

"  Too  bad  you  didn  't  have  a  chance  to  snap 
him  off,"  said  Teddy.    "He'd  make  a  fine 


78       CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

addition  to  the  pictures  you're  gathering,  to 
show  what  happened  to  us  on  the  trip. " 

"  Gabe  happened,  all  right.  And  we  ought 
to  keep  that  coffee,  to  present  to  him  if  ever 
he  shows  up  again,"  Dolph  went  on  to  say, 
with  a  laugh.  "I'd  like  to  watch  his  face 
turn  red,  if  it  could  get  any  more  so  than  it  is 
now,  when  he  saw  from  our  looks  that  we 
were  on  to  his  little  wrinkle. " 

"Why  not  get  a  line  out  as  we  go  along?" 
Teddy  asked.  "You  might  pick  up  a  trout  or 
two  with  an  artificial  minnow.  There  are 
lots  of  likely  places.  Perhaps  there  are 
black  bass  here,  too.  Most  of  the  rivers  in 
Michigan  are  full  of  gamey  fighters.  I've 
taken  them  out  of  the  St.  Mary's,  that  gave 
me  all  the  fun  anybody  could  ever  want." 

"Oh!  I'm  not  so  greedy  as  all  that,  or  so 
fish  hungry,  either.  I  like  to  attend  to  my 
rod  when  I'm  fishing,  and  not  trust  to  luck 
to  have  the  trout  or  bass  hook  himself.  Be- 
sides, I've  got  about  as  much  as  I  want, 
keeping  tabs  of  your  paddling,  and  making 
out  to  match  you  every  time.  We  can  camp 
on  the  lake  a  few  days,  and  I  reckon  I  '11  have 
all  the  fishing  I  want. " 

"Well,  I  take  it  that's  sensible  of  you, 
after  all,  Dolph.    Some  boys,  and  men  too, 


DOLPH  MEETS  SOMETHING       79 

are  so  cracked  over  fishing  that  they  get  on 
your  nerves.  And  as  you  say,  paddling  a 
canoe  against  this  fierce  current  is  about  all 
any  decent  fellow  ought  to  think  of  doing  at 
a  time.  Look  out  for  that  snagy  it's  got  an 
ugly  point,  too.  Thought  at  first  it  was  the 
head  of  a  water  snake  sticking  up;  or  a  snap- 
ping turtle,  mebbe.  Did  you  ever  see  any 
one  handle  a  paddle  like  Amos?  I  never 
could  learn  like  that.  He  doesn't  seem  to 
make  half  the  effort  that  we  do,  and  yet  see 
his  boat,  how  it  eats  up  against  the  stream." 

"I  suppose  it's  just  because  he  knows  how 
to  do  it,  and  where  to  place  every  ounce  of 
force  expended.  Some  fellows  are  born  pad- 
dlers;  and  others  seem  to  keep  on  bunglers 
all  their  lives.  I  guess  I  belong  to  that  class, " 
and  Dolph  Bradley  laughed  in  his  jolly  fashion, 
as  though  he  did  not  mean  to  let  such  a  little 
thing  bother  him,  at  any  rate. 

"Oh!  rats!  when  you  know  you 're  better 
than  I  am  by  several  degrees.  But  then  we '  ve 
got  little  to  be  ashamed  of  as  things  go.  Only 
Amos  is  away  up  in  a  class  all  by  himself. 
Look  at  the  way  he  dips  in,  will  you,  not  a 
sound,  not  a  drop  spilled.  That's  the  way 
to  handle  a  paddle,  wheD  out  at  night  after 
deer,  with  a  jack;     which  way  of  hunting 


80      CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

is  knocked  on  the  head  these  days  in  most 
States  though,  because  too  many  deer  were 
wounded,  and  ran  away,  only  to  die.  I  never 
had  a  chance  to  try  it,  I  must  say,  did  you, 
Dolph?" 

"Once,  down  in  Florida,  and  when  I 
wasn  't  hunting  deer  at  all,  but  shining  'gators 
along  the  border  of  a  swamp.  I  had  a  darky 
paddling  me,  and  he  pointed  to  a  pair  of  eyes 
that  he  said  must  be  a  'gator;  so  I  banged 
away,  having  a  scatter  gun,  and  using  buck- 
shot shells.  We  heard  something  kick,  and 
going  ashore  found  a  young  deer  lying  there. 
I  was  put  out,  because  I  wouldn't  have  shot 
the  little  thing  for  any  amount  of  money. 
And  from  that  day  to  this  I've  kept  the 
promise  I  made  to  myself  right  then  and 
there. " 

"What  was  that?"  asked  Teddy,  although 
he  thought  he  could  guess. 

"Never  on  any  account  to  shoot  at  some- 
thing that  I  didn't  have  a  pretty  good  idea 
as  to  what  it  was.  Why,  it  gave  me  the  creeps 
to  think  that  it  might  just  as  well  have  been  a 
little  black  pickaninny,  staring  out  at  our 
light;  for  there  was  a  cabinful  not  far  away. " 

Talking  in  this  fashion,  the  boys  beguiled 
the  time  away.    Often  Amos  would  hold  up, 


DOLPH  MEETS  SOMETHING       81 

it  might  be  to  join  in  the  conversation;  or 
possibly  to  draw  their  attention  to  some 
interesting  object  that  had  caught  his  eye. 
For  although  Amos  had  lived  his  entire  life 
in  the  woods,  save  the  short  time  he  chanced 
to  attend  school,  he  had  an  artistic  tempera- 
ment, and  his  eye  unerringly  picked  out 
beautiful  vistas  through  the  woods,  which 
seemed  to  fairly  ravish  his  soul.  Indeed, 
more  than  once  Teddy  had  openly  declared 
that  if  Amos  failed  to  become  a  doctor,  one 
of  these  days,  as  his  ambition  led  him  to  hope 
he  would,  he  would  surely  turn  out  to  be  a 
painter;  for  he  discovered  beauties  in  Nature 
that  neither  of  the  others  noticed  until  the 
woods  boy  called  attention  to  them. 

They  kept  this  constant  motion  up  hour 
after  hour.  It  was  tiresome,  of  course,  but 
then  these  boys  had  persistence  well  developed, 
and  knew  that  if  they  hoped  to  camp  that 
night  on  the  lake,  they  must  keep  everlast- 
ingly at  it. 

And  just  before  the  sun  had  climbed  to  the 
zenith,  or  as  near  as  he  meant  to  ascend, 
Teddy  gave  a  squawk  of  delight. 

"There's  the  place  we're  going  to  spend 
an  hour  or  two  at,  fellows,  just  ahead,  yonder, 
where  that  tree  bends  down  over  the  water. 


82      CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

"That's  a  point  of  land  marked  on  my  chart. 
Just  back  of  it  lies  a  big  natural  cranberry 
marsh,  where  the  reds  grow  thick  in  the  fall; 
but  you  see,  it 's  so  far  from  everywhere,  that 
few  of  them  ever  get  to  market." 

"I  want  to  step  back,  and  take  a  look  at 
that  same  marsh  myself,"  remarked  Dolph. 
1  'Don't  believe  I  ever  saw  a  real  wild  cranberry 
bog,  though  I've  been  in  one  down  in  New 
Jersey  near  Barnagat,  where  they  cultivated 
the  berries.  I  was  having  one  of  those 
famous  sneakboats  built  by  an  old  bayman, 
and  paid  him  a  visit  to  try  how  it  worked 
that  fall,  on  the  waters  there,  with  a  few  ducks 
coming  in.     Going  to  land  right  here,  Teddy?" 

"  Amos  has  picked  out  the  best  place;  trust 
his  eagle  eye  for  seeing  it.  Run  her  up  along- 
side his  canoe.  That's  the  ticket.  Now,  all 
ashore  and  stretch!" 

It  certainly  felt  good  to  be  able  to  stand 
up,  and  get  what  Teddy  called  the  "kinks" 
out  of  their  legs. 

As  it  had  been  decided  to  spend  some 
little  time  here,  seeing  they  could  now  easily 
reach  their  intended  destination  ere  nightfall, 
Amos  started  a  fire,  meaning  to  have  a  pot 
of  cheering  coffee.  Teddy  busied  himself 
&bout  something  that  he  had  laid  out  to  do, 


DOLPH  MEETS  SOMETHING       83 

while  on  the  river  that  morning;  and  Dolph, 
to  pass  the  time  away,  sauntered  back,  to 
find  a  way  of  looking  over  the  cranberry 
marsh. 

He  came  back  presently,  and  began  to 
take  out  a  fishing  rod,  quite  a  stiff  one  in  the 
bargain. 

"What's  up?"  demanded  Teddy,  watching 
these  preparations  curiously.  " Thought  you 
said  you  didn't  expect  to  catch  a  fish  until 
we  got  to  the  lake?" 

"Well,  I  don't,"  replied  the  other,  chuck- 
ling/' you  wouldn't  call  frogs  fish,  now,  would 
you?" 

"Frogs!  Oh!  I  see,  you've  discovered  that 
the  grunting  we  heard  back  there  came  from 
a  colony  of  big  greenbacks,  eh?  Well,  I  hope 
you've  got  some  red  flannel,  or  if  not,  then  a 
red  ibis  bass  fly  along  with  you.  They'll 
jump  at  it  like  hot  cakes;  and  you'll  nearly 
die  laughing  to  see  the  circus  that  takes 
place  when  they  find  that  they  just  can't  let 
go.  But  I  see  you  know  all  about  it,  because 
you've  shortened  your  line  to  a  foot,  and 
fastened  it  around  your  reel  handle.  Going 
to  put  'em  in  that  covered  bucket,  are  you? 
Well,  good  luck!  A  dozen  saddles  wouldn't 
be  any  too  big  a  mess,  Dolph.  Call  you  when 
the  coffee  is  boiling." 


84      CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

So  Dolph  went  away,  hurrying,  for  he  was 
considerably  excited  over  the  chance  to  cap- 
ture a  mess  of  the  frogs;  because  if  there  was 
one  dish  he  was  fond  of,  it  could  be  set  down 
as  frogs'  legs,  nicely  browned;  why,  in  his 
mind  they  were  better  than  the  finest  spring 
chicken  ever  grown. 

Teddy  went  on  with  the  task  he  had  set  out 
to  perform;  while  Amos  busied  himself  with 
his  cooking  fire,  which  of  course  differed  from 
the  usual  big  camp  fire  about  which  the  canoe 
cruisers  liked  to  sit,  after  their  evening  meal 
was  over. 

Amos  found  stones  to  suit  him,  and  built 
a  cairn  that  was  something  like  fourteen 
inches  wide  at  the  mouth,  tapering  along  un- 
til at  the  other  end  it  did  not  exceed  four 
inches.  On  this  he  could  place  both  frying-pan 
and  coffee-pot,  if  both  were  to  be  used.  And  in 
the  cavity,  he  proceeded  to  coax  a  red  fire 
by  adding  just  the  proper  kind  and  amount 
of  small  fuel. 

Not  more  than  six  or  seven  minutes  had 
passed  when  the  two  boys  were  startled  by 
hearing  Dolph  shouting  wildly  at  the  top  of 
his  voice;  and  they  judged  that  he  was 
coming  toward  the  camp  with  all  the  speed 
he  could  command. 


DOLPH  MEETS  SOMETHING      85 

''Bear!  Big  black  bear!  and  chasing  after 
mei  Hurry  up,  and  bring  a  gun,  somebody! 
Quick !  he's  right  after  me,  I  tell  you !  Whoop !" 
No  wonder  that  both  boys  hurriedly  snatched 
up  a  gun  apiece,  never  looking  to  see  whose 
these  happened  to  be,  and  ran  toward  the  spot 
from  whence  the  cry  for  help  proceeded. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

THE  WAY  TO  FISH   FOR  BULL  FROGS 

Here  was  a  pretty  how-dye-do;  Dolph 
goii>fT  innocently  back  to  the  cranberry  bog 
to  pick  up  a  dinner  of  frogs'  legs,  and  being 
chased  by  a  savage  old  bear! 

Somebody  did  get  a  move  on,  as  Dolph 
had  pleaded  for  them  to  do;  everybody  did, 
in  fact;  for  Teddy  dropped  whatever  he  was 
doing,  snatched  up  a  gun,  and  put  out  as  fast 
as  he  could  run;  while  Amos,  forgetting  all 
about  the  chances  of  his  fire  going  out  just 
when  it  needed  the  most  attention,  followed 
close  in  the  footsteps  of  his  camp  mate,  also 
armed  with  a  deadly  weapon. 

There  was  not  the  slightest  difficulty  in 
locating  the  scene  of  operations.  The  con- 
tinued whoops  of  Dolph  did  that  all  right  for 
them. 

All  at  once  the  yells  ceased,  as  if  by  magic, 
and  a  fear  gripped  the  would-be  rescuers  that 
they  were,  alas,  too  late  to  be  of  help.  Then 
they  heard  what  sounded  like  a  hysterical 
laugh,  followed  by  the  exclamation: 


FISHING  FOR  BULL  FROGS        87 

"Well,  I'll  be  hanged,  if  that  ain't  a  good 
one  on  me!" 

That  was  Dolph's  well  known  voice;  there 
could  not  be  the  slightest  doubt  about  it;  and 
to  judge  from  the  fact  of  his  actually  uttering 
a  sort  of  laugh,  it  seemed  as  though  Bruin 
could  not  have  eaten  him  up,  as  yet.  Both 
gallant  rescuers  felt  vastly  encouraged,  and 
emboldened  to  push  right  on. 

Breaking  through  a  fringe  of  bushes  they 
were  just  in  time  to  catch  a  last  glimpse  of  a 
badly  rattled  black  bear,  putting  for  all  he 
was  worth  into  the  adjacent  scrubbery,  and 
never  looking  back  once  to  ascertain  whether 
or  not  he  was  being  pursued  by  the  object 
that  had  so  thoroughly  frightened  him. 

Dolph  was  standing  there,  panting  heavily, 
and  yet  shaking  all  over  at  the  same  time, 
either  with  nervousness,  or  an  inclination  to 
laugh  at  his  late  scare,  possibly  both. 

"He's  vamosed,  has  he?"  queried  Teddy, 
drily,  though  both  he  and  Amos  were  con- 
scious of  feeling  a  broad  grin  creeping  over 
their  respective  faces. 

"Why,  yes,  seems  like  he  has,"  replied 
Dolph,  heaving  a  deep  sigh  of  relief,  ''and 
I'm  right  glad  of  it.  Honest  to  goodness, 
fellows,  he  made  straight  at  me,  and  had  on 


88      CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

his  fighting  face  to  boot.  I  thought  it  was  a 
she  bear  with  cubs;  and  you  know  they're 
always  ready  for  a  scrap.  That's  why  I 
whooped  it  up  like  I  did.  I  was  a  little 
bothered,  I  admit;  yes,  considerably  so,  if 
you  will  have  it.  Because,  you  see,  I  couldn't, 
very  well  stand  off  a  ferocious  bear  with  one 
little  fishing  rod,  could  I?  What  if  he'd 
grabbed  that  red  ibis  fly,  was  I  to  try  and  play 
him?  Not  much.  All  I  knew  just  then  was 
that  I  had  a  very  important  engagement  in 
the  next  county.  And  while  I  was  trying  my 
best  to  keep  it,  I  thought  it  my  duty  to  send 
you  fellows  warning,  so  you  wouldn't  be 
scared  when  he  bobbed  in  on  you.  And  I 
couldn't  seem  to  make  up  my  mind  which 
tree  I  wanted  to  climb,  either;  not  that  it 
mattered  much,  because  black  bears  climb 
like  monkeys.  But  anyway,  whatever  do 
you  think  made  him  take  after  me  like  that?" 

"Mebbe  he  thought  you  wanted  to  steal 
some  of  his  pets,  the  frogs,"  suggested  Amos, 
pleasantly. 

"  Rather  say  he  wanted  to  give  you  a  try 
in  a  wrestle;  these  black  bears  have  got  a 
hug  that  will  crack  a  man's  ribs,  if  you  let 
'em  get  the  right  hold,"  was  what  Teddy 
advanced  as  his  theory,  but  with  a  twinkle 


FISHING  FOR  BULL  FROGS        89 

in  his  eye  that  plainly  proclaimed  that  he 
was  joking. 

"Seriously,  now,  Teddy,  what  do  you 
think  made  him  chase  after  me  so?  I  hadn't 
bothered  him,  thrown  sticks  at  him,  or  even 
said  'boo!'  when  he  started  straight  toward 
me  on  the  jump,  making  the  queerest  sounds 
you  ever  heard." 

"Well,  if  you  want  my  honest,  unadul- 
terated opinion,"  said  Teddy,  "here  it  is,  I 
happen  to  know  this  same  cranberry  bog.  It's 
surrounded  on  nearly  every  side  by  swampy 
ground,  where  you  heard  those  big  frogs 
tuning  their  bass  notes.  In  fact,  right  here 
is  the  only  way  of  reaching  the  bog  dry-shod. 
A  sort  of  natural  causeway  leads  to  it,  so  to 
speak.  Now,  Mr.  Bear  knew  that  as  well  as 
I  do.  He  had  used  that  same  many  a  time 
in  the  past.  When  he  saw  you,  he  was 
scared,  and  wanted  to  get  away  the  worst 
kind.  You  happened  to  be  blocking  his 
passage,  and  so  he  had  to  gallop  toward  you. 
He  was  grunting  in  fright,  that's  what  caused 
him  to  make  those  queer  sounds.  Perhaps 
he  hoped  to  squeeze  past  you.  But  one  thing 
sure,  Dolph,  while  you  had  a  scare,  that  poor 
bear  was  the  worse  rattled  of  the  two.  Right 
now  he  is  congratulating  himself  on  having 
got  off  with  his  life!" 


90      CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

"There  might  be  another  around,  because 
bears  often  hunt  in  couples?"  suggested  Dolph. 

" Wouldn't  be  surprised;  and  I  reckon 
there  goes  all  our  hopes  of  frogs'  legs  for  din- 
ner tonight,"  remarked  Teddy,  dejectedly. 

"Well,  I  guess  not,"  said  the  other,  with  a 
compression  of  his  lips,  "I  see  you  snatched 
up  my  gun  in  your  hurry.  Let  me  have  it. 
I'll  keep  it  handy,  and  then  I  don't  care  a 
hang  for  all  the  old  bears  in  Michigan.  Who's 
afraid?  Go  back  to  your  jobs,  fellows,  and 
many  thanks  for  saving  my  precious   life." 

Laughing  at  his  merry  mood,  Teddy  and 
Amos  did  turn  about,  the  latter  running  back, 
for  fear  lest  his  newly-started  fire  might  have 
suffered  during  his  short  absence. 

Dolph  walked  on  into  the  cranberry  marsh. 
He  found  that  the  ground  was  fairly  covered 
with  the  plants,  and  that  an  abundant  crop  of 
berries  seemed  assured  for  the  coming  fall. 
Already  in  many  instances  they  were  taking 
on  a  pinkish  tinge,  although  they  would 
hardly  be  fit  for  picking  before  the  first  frost. 

But  a  mere  glance  around  was  enough  for 
Dolph  just  then.  As  he  had  said,  a  cranberry 
bog  was  not  a  new  sight  to  him,  though  this 
chanced  to  be  the  first  wild  uncultivated  one 
he  had  ever  gazed  upon. 


FISHING  FOR  BULL  FROGS        91 

Just  now  he  had  other  fish  to  fry.  Those 
big  deep-toned  bull-frogs  had  opened  up 
again,  and  were  loudly  accusing  each  other 
of  having  had  "more  rum"  than  was  good 
for  them. 

Dolph  knew  just  how  to  go  about  it,  and 
was  presently  having  "more  fun  than  a 
circus,"  as  he  called  it.  But  evidently  the 
frogs  did  not  enjoy  the  picnic  so  much  as  the 
fisherman;  but  then,  whoever  considers  what 
the  feelings  of  the  submerged  half  is,  when  in 
quest  of  food? 

Discovering  just  where  a  monster  was 
squatted  on  the  bank,  uttering  sounds  like 
the  lowing  of  a  bull,  Dolph  would  creep  up 
behind  him,  until  he  could  glimpse  his  in- 
tended quarry.  Then  he  would  elevate  his 
stiff  rod,  and  allow  that  flaming  bunch  of  red 
feathers  to  descend  in  front  of  the  creature's 
nose.  There  would  be  a  start,  the  bull-frog 
could  be  seen  to  half  crouch  down,  after  the 
manner  of  a  sly  cat,  and  then  he  would  jump 
up  at  the  tempting  lure,  which,  of  course,  the 
poor  silly  thing  believed  to  be  the  finest  moth 
it  had  ever  seen.  After  that  it  was  ludicrous 
in  one  way  to  see  how  badly  he  wanted  to  let 
go,  and  couldn't.  But  Dolph  wasted  no  more 
time,  and  quickly  put  an  end  to  the  acrobatic 
stunts  of  the  hooked  frog. 


92      CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

Then  he  would  go  on  to  the  next  serenader, 
whose  song  might  prove  just  as  much  a 
symbol  of  his  approaching  end  as  that  which 
the  swan  is  said  to  give  vent  to,  when  death 
draws  near. 

So  it  went  on,  and  the  load  Dolph  was 
carrying  kept  on  getting  heavier;  while  his 
visions  of  a  treat  in  the  way  of  frogs'  legs  for 
supper  kept  advancing  with  each  new  capture. 

When  Teddy  blew  the  conch  shell  as  a 
signal  that  lunch  was  ready,  the  coffee  hav- 
ing boiled  sufficiently,  on  counting  his  prizes, 
Dolph  found  that  he  had  just  fourteen,  al- 
most five  apiece. 

He  came  staggering  into  camp  with  his 
load,  to  be  greeted  with  much  clapping  of 
hands,  and  all  sorts  of  suggestive  gestures, 
which  were  calculated  to  tell  what  pleasure 
the  other  two  anticipated  from  the  results 
of  his  raid  on  the  frog  preserves  guarded  by 
that  bear. 

After  they  had  eaten  their  noon  meal, 
Dolph  busied  himself  in  preparing  the  catch. 
Of  course  he  lacked  some  of  the  dexterity  of 
the  man  in  the  French  market,  who  can  take 
off  the  saddles  in  such  wonderfully  fast  time; 
but  then  Dolph  manipulated  his  hunting 
knife  with  good  results,  and  in  the  end  the 


FISHING  FOR  BULL  FROGS        93 

load  to  be  carried  had  diminished  consider- 
ably. 

" Fourteen  splendid  saddles,"  declared  the 
pleased  frog  fisherman,  as  he  gazed  down  at 
his  catch.  "And  we'll  have  the  finest  dinner 
tonight  either  of  you  ever  set  your  teeth 
into;  I  give  you  my  word  on  that.  Just  wait, 
and  get  good  and  hungry.  You  can  have  your 
fill  for  once." 

"How  do  you  cook  the  blooming  things?" 
asked  Teddy,  looking  a  little  dubiously  at 
the  array  of  double  hind-legs  spread  out,  in 
what  Dolph  considered  a  most  tempting  way. 
"You  see,  I  never  yet  have  tried  one,  though 
Amos  here  says  he  has,  many  a  time.  But 
they  do  look  kind  of  nice  and  clean,  just  like 
chicken  breast." 

"You'll  say  they  are  like  the  most  tender 
spring  chicken  you  ever  saw,"  remarked 
Dolph.  "Of  course,  there  is  a  suspicion  of 
fish  about  them,  so  you  must  remember  that 
it's  frogs  you're  having.  How  do  I  cook 
'em?  Why,  exactly  like  we  do  trout.  Sizzle 
out  some  salt  pork,  and  have  plenty  of  the 
grease,  and  piping  hot.  Then  wet  your  frog 
legs,  and  roll  them  in  the  cracker  crumbs. 
If  you  haven't  any,  corn  meal  would  answer. 
After  that,  just  let  them  get  as  pretty  a  brown 


94      CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

all  over  as  you  can;  and  then  start  in  for  a 
grand  time.  That's  all.  Just  hold  your 
horses,  and  see.  You'll  never  hear  an  old 
granddaddy  frog  tuning  up  again,  without 
smacking  your  lips,  and  looking  around  for 
something  to  spear  him  with." 

After  a  while  the  cruisers  of  the  Upper 
Peninsula  once  more  started  up  the  Manis- 
tique.  The  current  was  getting  somewhat 
less  strong  now,  and  hence  they  did  not  have 
to  fight  quite  so  hard  in  order  to  shove  their 
craft  against  it. 

The  time  passed  as  usual.  Now  they  in- 
dulged in  an  exchange  of  pleasantries,  with 
more  or  less  laughter,  that  sprang  from  boyish 
hearts  not  yet  burdened  with  the  cares  and 
responsibilities  of  life.  Then  again  they  would 
sing  some  popular  ditty,  all  of  them  having 
fair  voices,  that  seemed  to  blend  splendidly; 
for  Teddy  had  a  high  tenor,  Amos  a  baritone, 
while  Dolph  could  come  in  with  a  pretty  fair 
article  of  bass  that  added  harmony  to  the 
whole,  though  he  would  never  venture  it 
alone. 

The  sun  was  now  more  than  half  way  down 
its  regular  afternoon  route  toward  the  western 
horizon. 

"We   must   be   getting   somewhere    near 


FISHING  FOR  BULL  FROGS        95 

there,"  Dolph  suggested,  as  he  got  on  his 
knees,  to  change  the  swing  of  his  stroke,  but 
more  because  he  felt  dreadfully  cramped 
sitting  in  one  position  so  long. 

"I  was  just  thinking  that  way  myself,  and 
if  I  remember  the  lay  of  things  at  all,  we  ought 
to  glimpse  the  lake  inside  of  the  next  ten 
minutes.     How  about  that,  Amos?" 

"I  think  the  same  way,"  replied  the  woods 
boy,  nodding  his  head,  and  smiling. 

"For  one,  then,  I  won't  be  sorry,"  declared 
Dolph,  frankly.  "My  back's  as  humped  as 
an  old  man's  seventy  years  old;  and  one  of 
my  legs  has  gone  to  sleep  so  hard  I'm  afraid 
it  never  will  wake  up  again." 

',Oh!  well,  then  I  suppose  Amos  and  myself 
will  have  to  cook  those  frogs'  legs,  and  make 
way  with  the  entire  bunch,  after  all,"  sighed 
Teddy. 

"Wow!  don't  you  believe  it!"  exclaimed 
Dolph.  "Why,  honest,  I  can  feel  a  quiver 
in  my  dead  leg  right  away.  I'm  good  for  my 
share,  and  I'm  going  to  cook  'em  too,  just  you 
make  sure  of  that,  my  hearty." 

"There's  the  lake!"  cried  Amos  at  that 
interesting  juncture,  and  Dolph  was  so  ex- 
cited by  the  news  that  he  tried  to  stand  up 
in  the  canoe,  spreading  his  feet  so  as  to  steady 
.the  frail  craft,  and  came  near  taking  a  header 


96      C^MP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

over  the  side,  as  one  of  his  legs  refused  to 
bear  his  weight;  but  all  the  same  he  managed 
to  shout: 

"It  is,  for  a  fact.    Three  cheers  for  a  camp 
on  Manistique  Lake!" 


CHAPTER  IX 

ON  THE  SHOKE   OF  THE  LAKE 

"Let's  turn  up  this  side,  and  keep  right 
along  for  an  hour,"  Teddy  suggested,  after 
the  canoes  had  kissed  the  waters  of  the  lake. 

"What's  the  idea?"  asked  Dolph. 

"Well,  only  a  liking  on  my  part  to  camp  as 
much  on  the  east  shore  of  a  lake  as  I  can, 
when  I  have  the  choice,"  replied  the  other. 

"But  the  storms  generally  come  from  the 
west,"  Dolph  went  on  to  say,  "and  if  one 
hits  you  plumb  in  the  faee,  it's  kind  of  dis- 
agreeable." 

"Hang  the  storms.  One  ge-lorious  sunset 
over  the  water  makes  up  for  half  a  dozen 
blows.  And  then,  on  a  hot  summer  night, 
it's  nice  to  catch  all  the  cool  air  that  stirs." 

"Perhaps  you're  right,  Teddy.  Anyhow, 
we'll  risk  it  on  your  word.  To  tell  the  honest 
truth,  I'm  that  hungry  right  now,  I  don't 
care  a  continental  where  we  camp,  just  so 
Amos  gets  one  of  his  bully  cooking  fires 
going." 


98      CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

"Oh!  it's  frogs'  legs  that  tempts  you!" 
scoffed  Teddy. 

Dolph  smacked  his  lips  as  he  replied : 

1  Tn  fancy  I  can  smell  them  now;  and  after 
you've  had  your  first  taste,  chances  are  Amos 
and  me,  why,  we'll  have  to  spear  our  share 
out  of  the  pan  in  a  big  hurry,  for  fear  we  won't 
get  it.     There's  just  one  thing  troubling  me." 

"What's  that?"  demanded  Teddy. 

"Why,  there's  only  fourteen  saddles,  you 
see,"  Dolph  sighed. 

"Well,  goodness  knows  that  ought  to  be 
enough,"  laughed  his  canoe  mate. 

"But  unfortunately  it  happens  that  four- 
teen doesn't  divide  by  three." 

"Oh!  is  that  what  you're  worrying  about?" 
Teddy  exclaimed. 

"Somebody  can  only  have  four  saddles," 
Dolph  went  on.  "  I  imagine  the  poor  fellow's 
feelings  when  his  appetite  keeps  on  calling 
for  another,  and  he  sees  his  comrades  holding 
up  a  tempting  morsel  on  their  forks,  but  none 
for  him!     It  is  a  terrible  thought." 

"Make  your  mind  easy,  old  fellow.  Never 
despair.  See,  I'm  game  enough  to  offer 
myself  as  the  victim.  I'll  take  just  four  as 
my  portion,"  Teddy  cried  out. 

"I  refuse  to  accept  the  noble  sacrifice. 
We'll  have  to  draw  lots,"  said  Dolph,  with 


ON  THE  SHORE  OF  THE  LAKE      99 

an  air  of  determination;  while  Amos  listened 
to  the  humorous  dialogue  with  a  broad  smile 
of  appreciation  on  his  face. 

"But  I  mightn't  like  frogs'  legs;  I've  never 
tried  'em  before/'  insisted  Teddy. 

The  other  made  a  scornful  gesture. 

"No  danger  of  that  happening.  You'll 
just  adore  them,  and  I  know  it.  And  we'll 
certainly  have  to  draw  lots  to  see  who  has  to 
curtail  his  appetite." 

"Oh!  well,  just  as  you  say;  I  don't  want  to 
kick  up  any  row  in  the  family."  Teddy  con- 
cluded, with  the  resigned  air  of  one  who  gives 
in  in  order  to  keep  the  peace,  yet  still  clings 
to  his  opinion. 

"You  went  and  blew  that  horn  on  me  too 
soon,"  complained  Dolph. 

"But  the  coffee  was  all  ready,"  said  Teddy. 

"Yes,  and  I'd  just  discovered  the  grand- 
daddy  of  all  the  bull  frogs.  He  was  sitting 
there,  winking  at  me.  And  I  could  see  he 
just  loved  queer  red  bugs  that  came  down  to 
dangle  in  front  of  his  nose.  I  make  it  a  rule 
never  to  disobey  a  call  to  dinner,  and  that's 
why  I  failed  to  get  the  fifteenth.  Wish  I'd 
gone  back,  now." 

"There's  the  place  for  our  camp,  I  guess," 
exclaimed  Teddy  just  then. 


J  CO     CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

Both  of  the  other  canoe  cruisers  united  in 
voicing  their  appreciation  for  Teddy's  selec- 
tion. Indeed,  it  seemed  as  though  Nature 
had  taken  especial  pains  to  create  an  ideal 
site  for  a  summer  camp. 

There  were  enough  trees  for  shade,  without 
interfering  too  much  with  their  view  of  the 
lake.  The  ground  had  a  gentle  slope  that 
promised  them  immunity  from  a  flooded  tent 
in  case  of  heavy  rain.  And  there  was  the 
clear  water  of  the  lake  within  reach,  for  all 
purposes — drinking  if  need  be,  fishing,  boat- 
ing and  swimming. 

Could  anyone  ask  more? 

There  was  the  nicest  little  beach  just  in 
front,  where  the  canoes  could  be  landed. 
And  as  the  three  lads  jumped  ashore,  they  felt 
satisfied  that  the  conditions  could  not  possibly 
be  improved  on. 

As  they  expected  to  stay  in  this  camp  for 
several  days,  it  was  only  natural  that  they 
should  go  to  some  little  extra  care  in  doing 
things. 

For  instance,  after  the  tent  had  been  raised, 
Teddy  and  Dolph  took  hatchet  and  knife,  and 
dug  a  little  sluice  in  a  crescent  shape  around 
the  side  that  was  up  the  slope.  This  was 
calculated  to  turn  any  water  aside  that  might, 
during  a  storm,  have  a  tendency  to  creep 


ON  THE  SHORE  OF  THE  LAKE    101 

under  the  tent,  and  wet  the  piece  of  canvas 
they  always  used  as  a  "floor." 

Then  Amos,  too,  used  extra  care  in  building 
his  stone  fire  place.  They  had  a  sort  of 
gridiron  arrangement  along  with  them,  which, 
composed  of  cross  sections  or  bars,  could  be 
opened  very  much  after  the  manner  of  the 
drawing  arrangement  used  in  some  schools 
for  copying  designs. 

When  open  it  was  very  nearly  two  feet 
square,  and  yet  it  could  be  squeezed  into  the 
smallest  compass  imaginable  when  not  in  use. 

Amos  built  his  fire  place  to  fit  this  "spider  " 
as  he  called  it.  Once  the  arrangement  was 
completed  they  could  set  the  coffee  pot  and 
skillet  on  this  frame  without  the  slightest 
danger  of  an  upset,  such  as  so  often  disturbs 
the  harmony  of  a  camp. 

Besides,  once  the  fire  got  down  to  red 
embers,  the  bars  of  this  grate  were  useful  to 
hold  pieces  of  toasting  bread — when  there 
was  any  in  store. 

And  so,  after  all  these  things  had  been 
looked  after,  and  the  sun  shone  very  red 
across  the  lake,  Dolph  was  called  upon  to 
exhibit  his  skill  as  a  cook. 

When,  just  as  twilight  came  stealing 
through  the  pine  woods,  supper  was  an- 
nounced, Teddy  was  seen  to  sniff  the  heavily 


102     CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

charged  air  in  a  manner  so  full  of  eager  appre- 
ciation that  the  cook  felt  constrained  to  call 
out: 

"  Remember  what  I  said  about  drawing  lots 
for  the  two  extras." 

He  watched  Teddy  eagerly  as  the  other 
forked  his  first  "  saddle,"  pulled  it  apart,  and 
took  his  first  bite.  There  were  no  words 
spoken;  none  were  needed,  since  actions 
always  speak  louder  than  any  language. 

Teddy  hesitated,  and  Dolph  frowned;  then 
suddenly  a  look  of  deep  satisfaction  chased 
away  this  cloud  from  the  face  of  the  cook; 
for  Teddy  was  gnawing  savagely  at  both 
frogs,  legs  at  the  same  time,  as  though  that 
single  taste  had  set  him  fairly  wild,  and 
grunting  like  a  satisfied  porker,  as  he  ate. 

But  three  seemed  to  be  his  limit. 

"  Mighty  fine,  all  right,  Mr.  Cook,"  he 
declared,  "and  next  time  set  me  down  for  a 
round  half  dozen;  but  just  now  I  draw  the 
line  at  three.  It's  a  queer  dish,  you  know, 
and  a  fellow  had  better  go  a  little  slow  till 
he  gets  used  to  it." 

"But  that  leaves  an  extra  saddle,  just  like 
before.  Don't  you  think  you  could  get  away 
with  just  one  more,  to  save  trouble?"  pleaded 
Dolph. 

"Not  on  your  life.     I've  had  enough,  and 


ON  THE  SHORE  OF  THE  LAKE    103 

I  know  it.  I  don't  want  to  overeat,  and  get 
a  distaste  for  such  a  fine  dish.  Draw  lots 
for  the  odd  one,  you  and  Amos.  And  I'll 
hold  the  straws.     Long  one  eats  my  share." 

It  fell  to  Dolph. 

"But  you're  welcome  to  it,  if  you  really 
care  for  another,  Amos,"  he  said,  generously. 

The  result  of  all  this  talking  was  that  there 
were  just  three  saddles  left  over.  Dolph  and 
Amos  were  stalled  at  four  each. 

"They  were  as  fine  as  silk,"  declared  the 
cook,  as  he  wrapped  the  remnants  of  the  feast 
in  some  clean  paper,  to  be  eaten  for  lunch  on 
the  following  day,  "but  they  were  such 
whoppers,  I  just  couldn't  make  way  with  more 
than  four." 

"Then  I  did  pretty  well  for  a  beginner, 
didn't  I?"  asked  Teddy. 

"Oh!  you're  going  to  make  the  champion 
frog  leg  eater  of  the  bunch,"  Dolph  replied, 
with  a  laugh.  "Why  I  only  nibbled  at  my 
first  taste,  and  it  took  me  some  time  to  really 
appreciate  them.  But  you  took  to  'em  as 
easily  as  a  duck  does  to  water." 

They  had  a  fairly  quiet  night,  all  told.  A 
few  mosquitoes  sang  around,  and  Teddy 
vowed  he  would  have  the  net  up  another  time. 

Then  a  loon  out  on  the  lake  uttered  its 


104     CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

discordant  cry  several  times,  after  the  moon 
had  arisen.  But  taken  in  all,  the  boys  found 
little  to  complain  of  in  this,  their  first  night's 
camp  on  Lake  Manistique. 

When  another  day  came,  they  knocked 
around  camp  for  some  time. 

"  Where's  Amos  gone?"  asked  Teddy,  as  he 
came  up  from  the  canoes,  to  find  Dolph  the 
sole  occupant  of  the  camp,  and  busy  rigging 
up  a  fishing  outfit,  as  if  he  wanted  to  try  the 
bass  in  the  lake. 

"  Oh !  he  heard  me  say  I  wished  we  had  some 
honey  for  those  fine  flap  jacks  he  made  for 
breakfast,"  replied  Dolph. 

"And  just  like  the  bully  fellow  he  is,  Amos 
has  trotted  off  to  see  if  he  can't  discover  a 
bee  tree  somewhere,  eh?  Well,  I  sure  hope 
he  does.  I  like  honey  pretty  well  myself, 
sometimes.  Going  to  try  the  bass,  eh,  Dolph." 

"I  hope  they  take  the  ibis  half  as  greedily 
as  those  big  bullfrogs  did.  I  couldn't  ask 
anything  better,"  replied  the  other,  as  he 
walked  down  to  the  canoes. 

These  had  been  completely  emptied  of 
everything  but  the  paddles. 

Teddy  saw  his  chum  paddle  away,  and 
watched  him  following  the  shore  of  the  lake, 
gaily  casting  his  gaudy  flies  in  every  shadowy 
spot. 


ON  THE  SHORE  OF  THE  LAKE    105 

"Hello!  he's  struck  one,  and  a  jim-dandy 
fish,  too,  if  that  bent  rod  stands  for  anything! 
Whew!  look  at  him  jump  out,  would  you? 
That's  the  finest  bass  I've  seen  for  many  a 
day.  Good  boy,  Dolph,  you  know  how  to 
manage  the  tricky  thing.  He  didn't  fall  on 
the  line,  and  tear  loose  that  time,  for  you 
lowered  the  tip  handsomely.  Go  it  again,  you 
fighter.  Makes  my  fingers  tingle  just  to  see 
it  going  on.  But  one  steel  fly  rod  is  all  we've 
got  along.  Another  time  I'll  take  a  turn  at 
it." 

He  watched  Dolph  land  three  fish  inside  of 
half  an  hour. 

Then  something  caught  Teddy's  attention 
at  the  camp,  and  he  went  back,  only  to  re- 
turn half  an  hour  later. 

Look  as  he  would  he  could  not  see  his 
chum. 

"Like  as  not  he's  in  one  of  the  little  bays," 
Teddy  remarked  to  himself,  "  where  the  trees 
make  a  shadow  on  the  water.  Perhaps  he's 
on  the  way  back  to  camp.  Guess  I  might  as 
well — hello!  now,  I  wonder  what  that  is, 
swimming  out  there  in  the  lake?  I  declare, 
it  looks  like — yes,  it  must  be  a  big  buck  deer! 
I  can  see  his  antlers  plain  now!  And  he's 
heading  to  strike  the  shore  over  on  this  side, 
too!" 


Chapter  X 

THE    FIGHTING   BUCK 

After  watching  the  progress  of  the  swim- 
ming deer  for  a  few  minutes,  a  sudden  idea 
flashed  into  the  mind  of  Tedd}r. 

"  Wonder  if  I  could  work  that  camera  of 
Dolph's  now?"  he  exclaimed.  "It'd  be  a 
bully  good  picture  to  get  that  buck  swim- 
ming." 

He  hurried  to  the  tent,  and  snatched  up 
the  little  kodak. 

Another  minute  and  he  had  launched  the 
second  canoe,  and  was  wielding  the  paddle 
for  all  he  was  worth.  Teddy  headed  in  such 
fashion  as  to  intercept  the  swimming  animal, 
and  keep  him  from  reaching  land.  It  was 
not  his  purpose  to  attempt  to  do  the  buck  any 
injury,  simply  to  have  some  fun;  though,  of 
course,  the  animal  had  no  means  of  under- 
standing that. 

Before  Teddy  had  gone  a  hundred  yards  he 
discovered  his  chum  in  one  of  the  small  bays, 
still  trailing  his  cast  of  flies  over  the  water. 

"Hi!  Dolph!  deer  swimming!    Come  out, 


THE  F1GHJNG  BUCK  107 

and  help  have  some  fun  with  him,"  was  what 
Teddy  shouted. 

And  Dolph,  apparently  nothing  loth,  started 
to  paddle  vigorously,  meaning  to  join  the  other 
as  he  came  along. 

The  deer  had  taken  the  alarm,  and  changed 
his  course.  He  was  now  headed  so  as  to 
reach  a  tongue  of  land  that  jutted  out  into 
the  lake. 

But  the  canoes  could  move  four  feet  to  his 
one.  Rapidly  they  overhauled  him.  Still, 
there  was  nothing  for  the  buck  to  do  but  keep 
doggedly  on.  Plainly  though,  he  was  alarmed 
and  "putting  in  his  best  licks"  as  Teddy  said. 

"I've  got  your  kodak  along,"  cried  Teddy, 
as  the  two  canoes  drew  close  together. 

"Good  for  you,"  Dolph  replied. 

"  Thought  we'd  like  to  get  a  picture  of  the 
deer  swimming  the  lake." 

"Crack  him  off  now,  then,  Teddy." 

"I'd  rather  you'd  manage  it,"  said  the 
other.  "I  might  make  a  bad  job  of  it,  and 
never  hear  the  end  of  the  joke.  Pull  in  a 
little  closer,  and  I'll  throw  it  over.  Be  sure 
and  catch  it  now." 

The  change  was  successfully  completed. 
And  although  neither  of  the  boys  dreamed 
of  such  a  thing  just  then,  it  was  fated  to  prove 


108     CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

a  very  fortunate  idea  on  the  part  of  Teddy. 
At  least,  it  saved  the  kodak  from  ending  its 
usefulness  at  the  bottom  of  the  lake. 

"  Let's  surround  him,"  suggested  Dolph, 
after  he  had  managed  to  snap  off  one  view. 
"I'd  like  to  get  a  closer  shot  at  him." 

"All  right,"  agreed  Teddy,  ready  for  any- 
thing, "you  go  that  way,  and  I'll  head  him 
off.  How'd  it  do  to  catch  hold  of  his  short 
tail,  and  make  him  tow  the  canoe?" 

"  Great  stunt  for  a  picture!"  declared  Dolph 
excitedly. 

What  the  buck  thought  about  it,  no  one 
seemed  to  care.  Teddy  put  on  a  little  extra 
spurt  of  speed,  and  circled  around  the  deer. 
Then  he  headed  directly  at  the  swimmer. 
The  buck  swerved  a  little,  and  Teddy,  now 
crouched  in  the  bow  of  his  canoe,  leaned 
forward. 

"All  ready  for  a  shot,  Dolph?"  he  shouted. 
The  buck  was  swimming  gallantly,  and 
desperately,  too. 

"Now,  snap  away!"  whooped  Teddy,  reach- 
ing down,  and  clutching  the  short  tail  of  the 
deer. 

What  happened  just  then  was  never  very 
clear  to  Teddy.  The  buck  must  have  turned 
upon  him,  when  insult  was  added  to  injury. 


THE  FIGTH1NG  BUCK  109 

He  heard  the  "click"  of  the  kodak;  then 
something  rammed  the  frail  canoe  so  furiously 
that  Teddy  went  headlong  into  the  lake. 

Being  a  good  swimmer,  the  boy  instantly 
struck  out.  It  happened  fortunately  that  at 
the  time  he  was  only  wearing  a  sleeveless 
tunic,  also  a  pair  of  trousers  and  tennis  shoes, 
for  the  day  had  turned  out  quite  warm. 

When  Teddy  arose  to  the  surface,  after  his 
hasty  dive,  he  shook  his  head  in  his  ac- 
customed way,  to  get  the  wet  hair  away  from 
his  eyes. 

The  first  thing  he  heard  was  Dolph  roar- 
ing: 

"Look  out!  He's  coming  after  you!  He's 
a  fighter,  all  right!    Dive,  Teddy,  dive!" 

And  then,  sure  enough,  Teddy  saw  the  buck. 
For  the  time  being  the  animal  seemed  to  have 
forgotten  how  anxious  he  had  been  to  reach 
the  shore.  Revenge  was  what  he  appeared 
to  be  after  now.  Teddy  had  placed  an  in- 
dignity upon  him  when  pulling  his  tail,  that 
no  self-respecting  buck  could  stand. 

Teddy  saw  it  was  useless  attempting  to 
get  into  the  canoe  again,  with  that  angry 
beast  in  full  chase.  The  tables  had  turned, 
and  it  was  now  Teddy  who  was  being  pur- 
sued. 


110     CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

He  was  a  good  swimmer,  but  perhaps  the 
deer  was  even  better.  So  it  seemed  as  if 
Dolph's  suggestion  might  be  the  best  after  all. 
By  diving  under  the  water  he  would  leave  the 
vengeful  buck  in  the  lurch. 

Just  how  the  deer  might  have  attacked 
him,  whether  with  horns  or  hoofs,  or  both 
together,  leddy  did  not  know.  He  did  not 
stop  to  find  out,  but  went  down  like  a  shot, 
meaning  to  swim  under  water  for  the  floating 
canoe. 

He  must  have  made  a  pretty  accurate,  if 
hasty,  calculation,  for  when  he  arose  to  the 
surface  again,  he  was  just  behind  his  canoe, 
which  had  righted  after  tossing  its  occupant 
out. 

"What's  he  doing  now,  Dolph?"  called 
Teddy,  when  he  could  get  rid  of  some  of  the 
water  he  had  half  swallowed,  and  draw  in 
fresh  breath. 

"Going  around  in  a  circle  trying  to  find 
you,"  came  the  reply. 

"Head  him  off  if  he  looks  this  way  even. 
Fve  had  all  the  deer  hunt  I  want  today," 
declared  the  boy  in  the  water. 

"All  right,  now;  he's  turned  to  the  shore. 
I  guess  he  thinks  you've  drowned,"  announced 
Dolph. 


THE  FIGHTING  BUCK  1 1 1 

Whereupon  Teddy  grew  bold  enough  to 
peep  around  one  end  of  his  canoe,  and  finding 
that  it  was  just  as  Dolph  said,  he  proceeded 
to  climb  in  over  the  stern,  by  straddling  the 
same,  the  only  way  a  canoe  can  be  entered 
from  the  water. 

"Pick  up  both  paddles,  will  you,  Dolph? 
Well,  can  you  beat  that?  I've  had  some 
queer  things  happen  to  me,  but  that's  the 
first  time  I  ever  had  a  deer  give  me  a  ducking. 
Good  joke  on  me,  Dolph." 

"You'll  say  so  when  you  see  the  picture," 
chuckled  the  other. 

'  'What!  did  you  strike  me  off?"  gasped 
Teddy. 

"Just  when  you  were  going  over,"  laughed 
Dolph.  "Wouldn't  be  surprised  but  what 
it'll  show  what  made  the  canoe  turn  partly 
over,  because  I  saw  the  deer  do  it.  There's 
the  marks  of  his  horns  right  now,  where  they 
scratched  the  green  paint." 

"Well,  don't  that  beat  all?  I'm  glad  we 
met  up  with  that  old  buck.  Say,  he's  some 
scrapper,  let  me  tell  you.  Look  at  him  climb- 
ing out  on  the  bank,  Dolph!  Aint  he  feeling 
proud,  though?  See  him  shake  his  antlers, 
and  strike  his  hoof  on  the  ground.  You  put 
it  all  over  your  Uncle  Teddy,  that  time,  old 
chap.    I'll  be  mighty  careful  after  this,  how 


1 12     CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

I  try  and  make  a  swimming  deer  tow  me, 
while  I'm  squatting  in  the  bow  of  a  cranky 
canoe.  There  he  goes.  Good-bye,  and  good 
luck  to  you." 

There  was  not  a  bit  of  resentment  in 
Teddy's  voice,  as  he  waved  a  hand  after  the 
disappearing  deer.  He  could  give  and  take, 
and  in  his  mind  the  buck  had  come  out  of  the 
little  affair  with  high  honors. 

"Guess  I'll  go  in  with  you,"  remarked 
Dolph,  after  he  had  easily  recovered  the 
floating  paddles,  and  handed  them  to  his 
chum. 

"Mebbe  you  think  it  ain't  safe  to  trust  me 
alone  on  a  big  lake  like  this,  and  in  a  boat 
that  can  act  like  a  bucking  broncho !"  chuckled 
Teddy. 

"Oh!  I'm  done  fishing.  Got  all  we  can 
use,  and  they've  about  stopped  rising  to  the 
fly  too.  Gamey  fellows,  I  tell  you,  Teddy, 
all  right." 

"I  watched  you  pull  in  a  few,  and  saw  that 
they  were  full  of  fight,  all  right.  But  that's 
always  the  way  with  Michigan  bass.  They 
never  give  up  till  they're  all  played  out.  I've 
had  one  on  that  jumped  out  of  the  water 
sixteen  times,  and  only  a  two  pound  fish  at 
that.  Yes,  that  is  &  beauty,  sure  enough." 
as  Dolph  held  up  a  splendid  fish,  ''and  I  see 


THE  FIGHTING  BUCK  1 13 

that  you  believe  in  knocking  'em  on  the 
head  when  you  boat  them,  to  end  their  suf- 
fering." 

"The  only  way  anyone  should  do,"  declared 
Dolph,  earnestly.  "I  hate  to  see  fish  gasp- 
ing their  lives  away  in  the  sun.  Besides, 
they'd  flop  all  over  and  keep  up  the  worst 
racket  you  ever  heard.  When  you're  fish- 
ing, you  had  ought  never  to  knock  the  boat 
more  than  you  can  help.  Sound  travels 
through  the  water  like  everything." 

"You  never  said  a  truer  thing,  Dolph,  and 
I  know  it,"  declared  Teddy,  as  they  paddled 
for  the  camp  landing  place. 

"Going  to  change  your  clothes?"  asked  the 
other,  laughing  again. 

"Oh!  I  guess  not,  they  can  dry  on  me,  all 
right.  Laugh  all  you  want  to,  Dolph.  It's 
a  good  joke,  that's  certain.  And  I  reckon 
Amos — listen,  I  wonder  if  that  was  him  firing, 
and  what  he  found  to  shoot  at.  Amos 
wouldn't  dream  of  killing  a  deer  in  the  close 
season." 

"Not  unless  he  was  nearly  starving,  and 
needed  food.  But  Teddy,  somehow  or  other 
I  don't  believe  that  was  Amos  shooting." 

"Why  do  you  say  that?"  asked  the  other. 

"Because  I'm  sure  1  heard  two  reports,  one 
right  after  the  other,"  Dolph  went  on. 


J14     CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

"  You  mean  that  Amos  only  carries  a  single 
shot  gun;  but  that's  where  you're  mistaken, 
my  boy.  He  took  my  Marlin  repeater  along. 
I  told  him  to  carry  it  the  next  time  he  went 
off." 

"Still,  the  shots  were  so  close  together,  one 
gun  couldn't  have  made  them,  unless  it  was 
a  double-barreled  scatter  gun.  Perhaps  we're 
not  the  only  ones  around  here.  We  happen 
to  know  about  Gabe  Hackett,  and  he  said  he 
was  on  the  way  to  visit  a  friend's  cabin,  a  man 
named  Crawley.'' 

"Yes,"  said  Teddy,  "I  know  the  man,  too, 
and  he's  about  as  hard  a  case,  when  drinking, 
as  Big  Gabe  ever  could  be,  from  what  Amos 
tells  us.  Those  two  men  are  game  poachers; 
that  is,  they  shoot  game  regardless  of  the 
close  season.  Perhaps  they've  knocked  over 
the  buck  that  upset  me?  That  could  hardly 
be,  either,  for  the  shots  sounded  too  far 
away." 

"Anyhow,  I  hope  our  chum  Amos  doesn't 
fall  Sn  with  them,"  remarked  the  other,  as 
they  jumped  ashore,  and  drew  the  canoes  up 
on  the  shelving  beach. 

And  Teddy  voiced  the  same  wish,  though 
not  dreaming  that  there  was  any  danger  of 
such  a  thing  happening  to  Amos. 


CHAPTER  XI 

ON   THE   TRACK  OF  AMOS 

When  Amos  failed  to  show  up  at  lunch  time 
the  two  boys  did  not  think  it  odd. 

"He's  a  determined  fellow,  when  once  he 
starts  out  to  do  a  thing,"  Teddy  remarked,  as 
the  two  of  them  sat  there,  eating  what  had 
been  provided.  "And  the  chances  are  he's 
had  to  go  further  to  find  his  bee  tree  than  he 
figured  on.  We'll  just  put  some  grub  aside 
and  keep  the  coffee  warm,  because  Amos  does 
dearly  love  his  coffee." 

"I  know  another  fellow  who  gave  us  to 
understand  that  he'd  risk  his  immortal  soul 
for  such  fine  Java  as  this,"  laughingly  re- 
marked Dolph. 

"Meaning  Big  Gabe,"  said  Teddy.  "That's 
right.  But  if  his  stripe  of  lumbermen  could 
only  drink  more  coffee,  and  less  whiskey,  it 
would  be  better  for  them.  Some  people  say 
coffee  is  bad  for  the  nerves,  but  it  never  makes 
men  crazy,  and  want  to  fight,  like  the  other 
stuff  does." 


116     CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

An  hour  passed. 

"  No  Amos  yet?"  asked  Teddy,  coming  up 
from  the  canoes,  where  he  had  been  doing 
something  to  fill  in  the  cut  made  by  the  snag, 
under  the  impression  that  all  such  serious 
bruises  weakened  a  canoe,  and  made  it  un- 
reliable in  case  it  was  used  in  the  rough 
water  of  rapids. 

"Nothing  doing,"  replied  Dolph.  "Kind 
of  expecting  him  any  time,  though.  Come 
here,  and  see  how  you  looked  taking  that 
header." 

"Hello!  been  developing  a  roll  of  films  in 
your  daylight  tank,  have  you?  And  did  they 
turn  out  good?"  Teddy  asked. 

"Look  for  yourself;  I've  given  them  a  hypo 
bath,  and  fixed  them.  Now  they're  being 
washed.  That  one  with  the  teetering  canoe, 
and  you  taking  a  backward  plunge,  is  just 
immense,  aint  it,  Teddy?" 

"Well,  that  proves  one  thing,  anyhow," 
the  other  declared,  with  a  laugh,  "  I  know  now 
that  I  went  over  backwards.  Couldn't  just 
decide  before  how  I  did  it.  And  as  sure  as 
you  live,  there  are  the  deer's  horns  actually 
tilting  the  canoe." 

"Great,  ain't  it,  Teddy?" 

"You  never  got  such  a  picture  before  in  all 


ON  THE  TRACK  OF  AMOS       1 17 

your  life,  and  I  don't  believe  you  ever  will 
again.  It  beats  anything  I  ever  saw.  But  I 
wish  Amos  would  come  in,"  and  Teddy 
frowned  a  trifle. 

"Why,  you're  not  worried,  are  you?"  Dolph 
asked. 

"Hardly  that,  but  I  can't  help  but  think 
of  those  two  shots,  and  wonder  if  they  could 
have  anything  to  do  with  his  staying  away." 

Dolph  made  no  reply,  although,  he,  too, 
looked  a  little  uneasy. 

When  more  than  another  hour  had  passed, 
Teddy  again  approached  the  subject  that 
seemed  on  his  mind. 

"It's  sure  queer  we  don't  hear  anything 
from  Amos,"  he  remarked. 

"  Three  o'clock,  and  past.  You  don't  think 
now,  it's  possible  that  Amos  could  have  gone 
and  got  lost?"  suggested  Dolph. 

At  that  Teddy  laughed  scornfully. 

"That  boy?"  he  declared.  "Why  you 
couldn't  lose  him  anywhere  in  Northern 
Michigan.  Take  him  in  a  balloon,  and  drop 
him  down  somewhere  in  the  pitch  dark,  and  I 
honestly  believe  all  he'd  have  to  do  would  be 
to  smell  the  soil,  feel  of  the  trees,  and  tell 
right  away  where  he  was." 

Dolph  in  turn  laughed  at  that. 


3 18    CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

"Makes  me  think  of  a  story  I  heard  once 
about  an  old  Nantucket  fisherman.  He  al- 
ways claimed  that  he  could  tell  by  the  smell 
of  the  mud  on  the  anchor,  where  they  were, 
whenever  they  had  to  haul  up  in  a  fog.  So 
one  day,  just  to  fool  old  Captain  Jones,  his 
men,  while  they  were  anchored  in  a  fog  some- 
where off  shore,  took  a  handful  of  soil  out  of 
a  box  they  had  on  deck,  where  the  skipper 
kept  some  parsley  growing,  of  which  he  was 
very  fond. 

"Hurrying  to  where  he  was  sleeping  they 
roused  the  old  man  by  telling  him  that  they 
had  lost  their  bearings,  and  wanted  him  to 
tell  where  they  were  at,  from  the  mud  scraped 
off  the  anchor,  and  with  that  they  clapped  the 
soil  taken  from  the  parsley  box  under  his  nose. 
He  took  one  smell,  and  then  jumped  to  his 
feet  wildly  excited,  yelling  out: 

"You  lazy  lubbers,  you've  let  us  drift  ashore, 
and  we've  been  anchored  right  over  Mother 
Jones'  garden!" 

It  was  Teddy's  turn  to  laugh  now.  But  as 
the  afternoon  waned,  his  fears  kept  on  growing 
apace. 

"I  don't  like  it,"  he  would  say,  "it's  so 
unusual  for  Amos  to  stay  away  like  this,  and 
when  he  only  meant  to  he  gone  a  few  hours. " 


ON  THE  TRACK  OF  AMOS       119 

"But  you  say  he  couldn't  be  lost?"  re- 
marked Dolph. 

"  I  'm  dead  sure  of  that. " 

"Then  tell  me,  what  might  have  happened 
to  him,  Teddy." 

"Oh,  one  of  a  good  many  things.  He  may 
have  met  up  with  those  poachers,  and  had 
trouble, "  the  other  said. 

"Yes,  that's  always  possible,"  admitted 
Dolph. 

"Then  again,  some  accident  might  have 
happened,  Dolph." 

"As  how?"  demanded  the  other.  "Amos 
is  a  careful  boy,  and  not  the  one  to  take  un- 
usual risks,  like  wanting  a  deer  to  tow  him. " 

"That  is  right,"  Teddy  continued,  smiling, 
"but  then  even  long  headed  fellows  can  some- 
times meet  up  with  accidents  in  the  woods. 
A  rotten  branch  might  give  way  under  him 
when  he  was  climbing  a  tree  to  investigate  a 
possible  bee  hive.  And  a  tumble  can  break 
a  leg,  no  matter  if  it  is  as  stout  as  those  Amos 
boasts. " 

"Still,  I  can't  believe  such  a  thing  would 
ever  happen  to  Amos,"  Dolph  persisted  in 
saying. 

"Then  there's  my  repeating  shot  gun — he's 
never  really  handled  one,  you  know.     While 


120     CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

it  works  like  a  charm  for  me,  and  I  can't  for 
the  life  of  me  see  how  anybody  could  ever 
make  any  mistake  handling  that  gun,  still,  I 
admit  I'm  worried,"  and  Teddy  showed  it  in 
his  looks. 

"  Had  we  better  do  anything?  "  asked  Dolph. 
"I'm  ready  to  follow  out  whatever  plan  you 
suggest. " 

"Oh!  we'll  wait  another  hour,"  Teddy 
replied. 

"And  then?"  the  other  went  on. 

"If  Amos  hasn't  shown  up,  I'm  going  to 
start  out  on  his  trail. " 

"You  must  let  me  go  along,  Teddy. " 

"Of  course,  wouldn't  think  of  trying  it 
alone.  If  the  boy  was  in  serious  trouble,  of 
any  kind,  mind  you,  it  would  be  as  well  to 
have  both  of  us  there. " 

That  was  a  long  hour. 

When  it  finally  ended,  both  boys  were  ready 
and  eager  to  start  out.  The  tent  was  securely 
fastened  up,  so  that  if  it  rained  no  damage 
might  come  to  their  things.  Teddy  even  hid 
away  a  lot  of  stuff  in  a  hollow  tree,  so  that 
in  case  thieves  came  they  might  not  quite  clean 
out  the  provision  department.  He  also  se- 
creted the  paddles,  and  thus  in  a  measure 
guarded  against  having  the  canoes,  now  placed 


ON  THE  TRACK  OF  AMOS       121 

ashore  in  the  bushes,  from  being  carried  away.. 

"What  if  he  should  drop  in  after  we're 
gone?"  remarked  Dolph,  shouldering  his  gun. 

"I've  thought  of  that,"  replied  Teddy. 

"And  prepared  for  it  too,  I  wager,  for  I  saw 
you  writing  a  note, "  Dolph  went  on  to  say. 

"Yes,  which  I'll  leave  fastened  in  this  stick 
standing  up,  one  end  of  which  I  've  split  with 
my  knife.  He'll  be  sure  to  see  it  the  first 
thing, "  Teddy  remarked. 

"What  did  you  say?"  asked  his  chum  and 
camp  mate. 

"That  we  were  anxious  about  him,  and  had 
started  out  on  his  trail.  If  he  came  in  while 
we  were  gone  he  was  to  stay  in  camp  and  wait 
for  us.  Could  you  add  anything  to  that, 
Dolph?" 

"  I  guess  not.  And  your  idea  of  keeping 
him  here  is  a  good  one,  too.  Only  for  that 
Amos  might  start  out  to  hunt  us  up;  and  so 
we'd  all  keep  on  chasing  around  in  circles, 
no  end  of  time.  I'm  ready,  if  you  are, 
Teddy." 

"  Here  is  where  I  found  when  he  went  away. 
The  trail  is  as  plain  as  anything,  too.  No 
trouble  about  following  that.    We're  off." 

And  with  these  words  Teddy  started.  In- 
deed, they  doubtlessly  moved  along  even  more 


122     CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

rapidly  than  Amos  himself  may  have  gone, 
because  on  his  part  the  woods  boy  halted 
every  little  while  to  look  around,  and  ascertain 
if  there  were  any  bees  working  on  the  wild 
flowers.  Had  he  found  such  Amos  was  pre- 
pared to  capture  one  that  was  already  laden 
with  honey,  attach  a  white  thread  to  him,  and 
then  let  the  insect  go  free.  It  would  in- 
variably head  straight  for  the  tree  hive,  for 
a  laden  bee  always  goes  home  directly,  whence 
the  saying  of  a  "bee  line." 

Watching  until  he  could  no  longer  see  the 
trailing  white  thread,  Amos  would  have 
marked  the  spot.  Capturing  another  laden 
honey  gatherer  he  would  attach  a  second 
thread,  and  let  him  loose. 

And  in  this  fashion  would  he  draw  nearer  to 
the  forest  hive,  until  certain  well  known  signs 
must  have  betrayed  its  presence  to  the  honey 
hunter. 

But  evidently  Amos  was  not  finding  any 
bees.  At  least,  he  seemed  to  make  no  effort 
to  play  this  well  known  little  game. 

The  afternoon  wore  away,  and  evening 
came  on.  By  now  the  boys  guessed  they 
must  be  several  miles  from  their  camp  on  the 
shore  of  the  lake;  and  so  far  not  a  sign  of  the 
missing  comrade  had  they  run  across. 


ON  THE  TRACK  OF  AMOS       123 

Both  of  them  became  more  anxious.  At 
Teddy's  suggestion  Dolph  even  fired  three 
shots  in  quick  succession.  But  though  they 
strained  their  ears  they  heard  no  response  to 
this  recognized  signal  that  should  have  had 
an  answer. 

"I'm  afraid  there's  something  wrong," 
remarked  Dolph. 

"And  I've  been  feeling  more  and  more  that 
way  for  some  time,"  Teddy  said. 

A  minute  later  he  uttered  a  low  cry: 

"Look  what's  that  on  the  ground  ahead 
of  us,  Dolph?" 

The  other  gasped,  fearing  the  worst  j  and 
then  exclaimed: 

"It's  only  what's  left  of  a  deer  that's  been 
shot  here,  and  cut  up. " 

"But  our  chum  never  shot  it,"  declared 
Teddy.  "  See,  here  are  the  tracks  of  two  men. 
Chances  are,  Amos  saw  them  kill  the  deer  out 
of  season.  And  now  they've  made  him  go 
off  with  them,  so  he  won 't  tell  what  he  knows 
to  a  game  warden.  Here's  a  pretty  kettle  of 
fish." 


CHAPTER  XII 

THE   GAME   POACHERS 

Meanwhile,  the  woods  boy  was  in  trouble. 

He  had  walked  for  several  miles  through 
the  pines,  packing  that  dandy  little  Marlin 
repeater  belonging  to  Teddy,  and  really  wish- 
ing he  might  run  across  a  fighting  wild  cat,  or 
even  a  panther,  though  these  latter  animals 
were  seldom  seen  in  the  Michigan  woods  in 
late  years.  Anything  in  the  shape  of  game 
that  the  law  did  not  protect,  but  paid  a  bounty 
for  killing — that  was  the  height  of  Amos' 
ambition  as  he  stalked  along.  For  he  wanted 
to  see  how  it  felt  to  use  the  gun  he  had  always 
admired  so  much;  and  even  a  fierce  lucivee 
would  have  been  welcomed. 

Of  course,  Amos  did  not  forget  for  one  min- 
ute what  especial  object  had  lured  him  abroad 
on  this  morning.  He  kept  on  the  alert  to  dis- 
cover traces  of  wild  flowers,  and  their  busy 
attendants,  the  little  honey  gathering,  pollen 
scattering  bees. 

Strange  to  say  there  seemed  to  be  a  wonder- 
ful dearth  of  the  insects  right  around  that 


THE  GAME  POACHERS  125 

particular  section.  Amos  was  at  first  sur- 
prised, and  then  nettled.  He  disliked  to  give 
any  object  up  so  easily;  and  when  noon  came 
it  found  him  with  his  head  still  turned  away 
from  the  camp,  and  without  having  met  with 
any  success. 

Thinking  he  had  better  not  go  further  in 
that  direction,  Amos  began  to  circle  around 
to  the  left.  This  movement  would  allow  of 
his  covering  much  new  ground.  Better  still, 
if  he  kept  on,  he  expected  to  eventually  strike 
the  shore  of  the  lake,  at  a  point,  say  a  mile  or 
two  from  the  camp. 

It  was  a  nicely  arranged  plan,  but  circum- 
stances which  he  had  never  for  seen,  and  over 
which  he  really  had  no  control,  caused  it  to 
miss  fire. 

There  was  undoubtedly  a  whole  lot  of  luck 
or  accident  in  the  way  things  came  about; 
but  then  that  can  be  said  with  regard  to  nearly 
every  event  that  occurs.  Think  of  the  west- 
ern railway  train  that  was  five  minutes  behind 
time,  arriving  in  sight  of  the  station  just  so 
that  the  horrified  passengers  saw  the  cyclone 
tear  that  building  at  which  they  should  have 
been  stopping,  into  a  thousand  bits.  That 
happened  just  the  other  day,  out  near  Omaha, 
Nebraska. 


126     CAMP  MATES  ]N  MICHIGAN 

All  of  a  sudden  Amos,  sitting  on  a  log  and 
resting,  heard  a  deer  jumping.  Then  came 
two  shots,  one  close  on  the  heels  of  the  other. 

A  wounded  doe  ran  out  of  the  scrub  and 
fell  dead  on  the  ground  not  twenty  feet  away 
from  the  boy.  Then  he  heard  voices  ap- 
proaching. Amos  would  have  shown  his  good 
sense  by  taking  to  his  heels  just  then,  and 
vanishing.  He  did  nothing  of  the  kind,  only 
stood  there,  and  waited  to  see  who  it  was 
shooting  deer  out  of  season,  and  a  doe  at  that. 
And  like  as  not  Amos  would  quickly  repent 
him  of  this  unwise,  even  foolish  lack  of 
caution. 

Two  men  came  hurrying  forward.  The 
first  one  Amos  recognized  as  Big  Gabe  Hackett 
and  he  guessed  that  the  other  must  be  Jared 
Crawley — yes,  he  remembered  the  fellow, 
though  some  years  had  passed  since  last  he 
saw  him. 

Just  as  they  reached  the  deer  they  dis- 
covered Amos,  and  both  men  showed  signs 
of  confusion,  which  quickly  changed  to  anger. 

Almost  before  the  surprised  Amos  realized 
what  was  happening,  the  giant  poacher  had 
leaped  over  to  his  side,  and  snatched  the 
precious  Marlin  out  of  his  hands. 

After  that  they  could  not  have  driven  the 


THE  GAME  POACHERS  127 

woods  boy  away,  for  he  simply  must  have 
refused  to  return  to  camp  minus  Teddy's 
pet  gun. 

"What  ye  doin'  hyar,  ye  game  warden 
spy?"  growled  Big  Gabe,  lifting  his  fist,  as 
though  tempted  to  strike  the  boy  5  but  at 
least  Amos  did  not  quail;  he  looked  the  other 
straight  in  the  eye  as  he  replied: 

"I  was  trackin'  around  in  hopes  of  findin' 
a  bee  tree  for  the  boys;  but  just  concludin' 
to  give  it  up  and  head  for  camp,  when  this 
deer  dropped.  Somebody  shot  her,  but  I 
didn't  see  who  fired,  so  it  ain't  any  of  my 
business. " 

"Oh!  it  ain't,  hey?"  roared  Gabe,  "wall 
then,  I'll  make  it  yer  business,"  and  with 
that  he  placed  the  repeating  gun  so  close  to 
the  deer  that  when  he  fired  the  sound  was  so 
muffled  that  it  could  not  possibly  have  car- 
ried any  great  distance;  which  was  why  those 
in  the  camp  heard  no  third  discharge. 

"  What'd  ye  do  that  for?"  demanded  Craw- 
ley, who  was  a  tough  looking  old  customer, 
weaker  in  disposition,  perhaps,  than  Big 
Gabe,  but,  Amos  believed,  every  inch  as  much 
a  rascal. 

"So  he'd  have  a  hand  in  downin'  the 
deer,"  said  the  big  poacher,  with  a  cunning 


128     CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

leer.  "Now  he  dasn't  peach  on  us,  Jared, 
"cause  Amos,  he's  in  the  same  fix  himself. 
And  say,  this  leetle  gun  handles  great.  I 
jest  been  a  lookin'  fur  somebody  ter  make  me 
a  present  o'  sl  six  shooter  like  this. " 

"Well, "  said  Amos,  stoutly,  "  I  guess  you  're 
off  your  trolley  about  that  gun.  Nobody 
ain't  giving  it  to  you.  It  belongs  to  my 
friend,  Teddy  Overton,  and  he's  carried  it 
so  long  he  wouldn't  let  it  go  for  a  heap. " 

"Oh!  he  wudn't,  eh?"  growled  Big  Gabe, 
frowning. 

"And  you  know  what  his  father  is;  he 
ain  't  afraid  of  any  man  or  any  Lumber  Trust 
on  earth.  Well,  the  boy's  a  chip  of  the  old 
block.  You  try  to  keep  his  gun,  and  see 
what  happens  to  you.  I  guess  you'll  think 
some  black  hornets  are  singin'  around  your 
head  in  no  time. " 

Perhaps  it  was  wrong  for  Amos  to  taunt 
the  poacher  after  this  fashion.  But  then 
Big  Gabe,  being  at  the  time  in  a  nasty,  reck- 
less humor,  the  chances  are  he  would  hardly 
have  backed  down  anyhow,  once  he  put  his 
hand  to  the  plow. 

He  looked  at  Amos  reflectively. 

"Say,  them  fellers  think  a  heap  o'  ye,  I 
guess,  mebbe,  Amos?"  he  remarked. 


THE  GAME  POACHERS  129 

"They're  mighty  fine  boys,"  admitted  the 
other,  falling  into  the  trap. 

"And  like  as  not,"  continued  the  poacher, 
a  grim  smile  beginning  to  creep  over  his  red 
face,  "  if  they  thort  as  how  you  was  hurted  or 
lost,  now,  that  Overton  boy  and  the  Bradley 
one,  son  o'  Mark  Bradley  the  rich  manufac- 
turer, would  sally  out,  and  try  to  find  ye. 
Ain't  thet  so,  Amos?" 

Amos  knew  it  was.  But  he  declined  to 
commit  himself.  Truth  to  tell,  a  terrible 
fear  had  suddenly  taken  possesssion  of  him. 
Evidently  these  two  desperate  lawless  men 
had  been  talking  over  some  wild  scheme  that 
had  for  its  main  object  the  demand  on  Mr. 
Overton  or  Mr.  Bradley,  for  ransom  money, 
after  the  two  sons  of  the  wealthy  men  had  been 
made  prisoners. 

Once  the  ransom  was  in  their  hands  no 
doubt  the  two  men  had  in  mind  an  asylum 
across  the  lake  in  Canada. 

That  was  why  a  dreadful  fear  suddenly 
sealed  the  lips  of  Amos.  But  Big  Gabe  read 
his  answer  in  the  look  of  alarm  that  shot 
athwart  the  boy's  face.  He  laughed  harshly, 
and  then  went  on  to  say: 

"Git  busy  an'  cut  up  the  deer,  Amos, 
none  o'  yer  puttin'  on  airs  now  or  I'll  be 
tempted  to  use  that  on  ye,"  and  he  lifted  one 


130     CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

of  his  tremendous  fists  that  had  knocked 
scores  of  men  down  in  the  days  when  Big 
Gabe  "ruled  the  roost' '  as  the  bully  of  the 
logging  camp. 

Amos  was  no  fool.  He  could  be  discreet  as 
well  as  brave.  And  truth  to  tell,  a  wild  desire 
now  began  to  seize  upon  him  to  learn  in  some 
fashion  just  what  the  plans  of  these  two  con- 
spirators might  be,  in  order  that  he  could  make 
them  come  to  naught,  and  save  his  chums. 

By  running  away  he  would  lose  all  chance  of 
finding  this  out.  And  besides,  he  was  apt 
to  take  unnecessary  risks,  because  he  honestly 
believed  Gabe  would  shoot  after  him,  using 
the  shot  gun  in  order  to  simply  lame  him. 

And  then,  there  was  Teddy's  prized  gun- 
how  could  he  have  the  face  to  go  back  to  camp 
and  tell  how  that  had  been  plucked  from  his 
hands  without  his  being  able  to  make  the  least 
resistance? 

So  Amos  making  the  best  of  a  bad  bargain, 
took  out  his  knife,  got  down  on  his  knees 
beside  the  slain  deer,  and  started  to  cut  the 
carcass  up.  The  two  men  sat  there  on  the 
log  Amos  had  recently  vacated,  watching  his 
labors,  and  occasionally  exchanging  a  remark, 
generally  to  the  effect  of  how  enjoyable  it  was 
to  have  some  one  to  do  all  the  dirty  work. 

This  was  no  new  business  to  the  woods  boy. 


THE  GAME  POACHERS  131 

He  pretended  not  to  pay  any  attention  to 
what  was  said  by  the  men.  But  he  saw  that 
Hackett  kept  the  Marlin  gun  across  his 
knees  all  the  while,  allowing  his  own  old 
weapon  to  lie  unheeded  on  the  ground. 

"  Now  tie  up  all  them  parts  in  the  skin,  so  ye 
kin  tote 'em,  Amos, "  ordered  the  despot,  when 
the  boy  announced  that  he  had  taken  all  the 
choice  portions. 

There  was  nothing  to  do  but  grin  and  bear 
it,  though  Amos  doubtless  thought  his  lines 
had  fallen  in  anything  but  pleasant  places. 

"Pick  her  up!"  ordered  Big  Gabe,  as  he 
arose,  tucked  Teddy  Overton's  gun  under  one 
arm,  and  his  own  under  the  other.  "We  got 
about  two  miles  ter  kiver;  an'  me  'n  Jarda 
here,  bein'  kinder  rusty  in  the  j  'ints,  ain't  as 
well  able  ter  pack  loads  acrost  ken  try  as  when 
we  was  young  an'  nimble  guides.  Head 
straight  into  the  south,  Amos.  And  I  hopes 
as  how  ye 're  too  sensible  ter  think  of  tryin' 
ter  run  away,  'cause  I  'd  hate  to  pepper  ye  with 
this  ere  scatter  gun;  but  I  swear  I  will  if  so  be 
he  tries  to  skin  out. " 

Amos  knew  the  man,  and  he  believed  him. 
So  for  various  reasons  he  decided  not  to  make 
any  attempt  at  flight — just  then,  at  any  rate. 

He  wondered  where  they  were  taking  him. 
Somewhere  or  other  they  must  have  a  camp. 


132     CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

Then  he  remembered  Big  Gabe  mentioning 
the  fact  that  Crawley  had  a  cabin  somewhere. 

"I  wonder  if  it  could  be  that  old  place 
they  used  to  say  was  haunted?"  Amos  was 
whispering  to  himself,  as  he  walked  along, 
now  turning  a  little  to  the  right,  and  again  to 
the  left  as  his  captor  directed,  and  often  the 
butt  of  coarse  ridicule  on  the  part  of  Big  Gabe, 
who  thought  the  boy  was  only  a  little  coward, 
after  all. 

He  did  not  dream  what  was  passing  through 
the  mind  of  Amos. 

After  a  while  the  boy  felt  sure  they  must 
be  making  for  the  cabin  of  which  he  had  heard 
more  or  less  talk,  but  which  he  had  never 
seen. 

Aud  sure  enough,  when  the  sun  was  only 
half  way  down  toward  the  horizon  they  came 
in  sight  of  an  old  cabin,  nestled  in  the  midst 
of  the  wildest  growth  of  bush;  as  though 
Nature  was  trying  hard  to  heal  the  scar  made 
by  man's  hand. 

"Hello!  thar,  Sallie,  open  up!"  shouted 
old  Crawley;  and  somewhat  to  the  astonish- 
ment of  Amos,  the  cabin  door  opened  to  reveal 
the  slender  figure  of  a  girl  about  the  twelve 
years  of  age — a  girl  with  tawny  golden  hair, 
a  rather  small,  pallid  face,  and  the  biggest  blue 
eyes  he  had  ever  seen  in  any  one. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

SALLIE 

Amos  was  taken  aback  when  he  saw  the 
girl  standing  there  in  the  doorway  of  the  old 
cabin  in  the  pine  woods. 

He  had  supposed  that  when  he  set  that 
greasy  old  ruffian,  Crawley,  down  as  a  vaga- 
bond, without  a  single  good  quality  in  his 
make-up,  he  was  only  doing  him  justice  and  to 
discover  that  he  actually  had  a  decent  trait 
in  his  miserable  character,  was  quite  enough 
to  shake  Amos's  faith  in  his  own  ability  to 
read  men. 

This  was  when  he  saw  Crawley  actually 
bend  down  and  kiss  the  girl.  It  made  Amos 
shudder,  too,  somehow,  when  he  thought  of 
those  tobacco  stained  lips  coming  in  contact 
with  the  red  ones  of  the  frail  girl. 

At  any  rate,  Amos  thought,  if  this  were  his 
child,  she  surely  could  not  have  any  of  Craw- 
ley's nature  in  her;  for  he  looked  the  drinking 
scoundrel  the  boy  knew  him  to  be,  while  some- 
how Amos  thought  of  angels  he  had  seen  in 
dreams  when  he  saw  her  yellow  hair  and  big 
blue  eyes. 


134     CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

So  this  was  Sallie!  She  seemed  somewhat 
surprised  to  see  a  boy  with  the  two  men  and 
turned  those  big  eyes  reproachfully  upon 
Crawley,  which  action  somehow  caused  him 
to  squirm  uneasily,  and  say  hastily: 

"Oh!  we  ain't  agoin'  to  kill  the  little  fool, 
Sallie.  All  we  wants  is  ter  keep  him  close 
here  a  few  days,  so  he  can't  meddle  in  other 
people's  bizness.  Ye  see,  it  ain't  safe  for 
greenies  ter  be  aroamin;  the  woods,  when 
fellers  is  ahuntin'.  They  don't  know  how  ter 
handle  highfalutin'  guns,  an'  are  apt  to  do 
damage  ter  pore  hard  workin'  root  gatherers 
like  Gabe  'n  me.  Set  that  meat  down  in  a 
corner,  ye  gump,  an'  don't  stant  thar  astarin' 
at  my  Gal.  Sallie,  sense  ye  got  sech  a  fine 
fire,  I  reckon  we  might's  well  cut  off  some  o' 
this  fresh  mutton,  and  make  a  meal  o'  it. 
Gabe,  spose  ye  keep  one  eye  on  our  new  friend 
hyar,  an'  if  he  tries  ter  vamose,  wing  him." 

The  girl  said  nothing,  but  she  evidently 
understood  that  these  two  evil  men  had  some 
wicked  game  in  prospect.  Amos  saw  her 
shoot  a  pitying  glance  toward  him,  and  some- 
how he  was  not  sorry  that  he  had  been  brought 
to  that  cabin. 

Of  course,  the  presence  of  that  splendid 
repeating  rifle  made  her  think  the  young  owner 


SALLIE  135 

must  be  well  to  do,  and  she  knew  from  experi- 
ence that  such  people  always  had  a  certain 
stamp  of  value  in  the  eyes  of  her  unscrupulous 
parent,  who  was  forever  trying  to  collect  the 
living  he  said  the  world  owed  him. 

Amos  had  by  this  time  recovered  from  his 
great  surprise  and  was  beginning  to  wonder 
whether  he  might  not  sooner  or  later  reap 
some  benefit  from  this  new  situation. 

The  girl  looked  as  though  she  could  not 
possibly  enter  into  any  of  the  wicked  plans 
of  her  father  and  his  equally  unprincipled 
partner;  perhaps  Amos  might  prevail  upon 
her  to  even  set  him  free,  once  the  chance 
presented  itself. 

And  the  more  the  boy  looked  upon  the 
slender  little  figure,  almost  pitiful  in  compari- 
son with  the  bulky  frames  of  the  men,  or  even 
his  own  stocky  form,  the  less  he  found  to 
regret  in  his  apparently  desperate  situation. 

Why,  he  had  never  imagined  that  such  a 
sweet  child  existed;  for  in  all  his  experience 
he  could  not  remember  having  looked  upon  a 
face  that  appealed  so  to  the  best  that  was  in 
him  as  Sallie's  seemed  to  do. 

Boy-like,  he  wondered  what  she  thought 
of  him.  He  knew  that  his  appearance  could 
not  be  very  prepossessing,  especially  after 
carrying  that  meat  so  long. 


136     CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

Now  and  then  he  saw  her  glance  curiously 
at  him.  When  she  was  not  looking  Amos 
ran  his  fingers  through  his  hair.  He  even 
stepped  over  to  a  tin  basin  that  held  some 
water,  and  washed  his  hands.  The  sight  of 
spots  of  dried  blood  on  them  disturbed  him. 
Somehow,  he  thought  she  might  not  like  to 
see  it. 

Sallie  went  about  her  task  of  cooking  the 
fresh  venison  with  the  air  of  one  who  knew  all 
about  the  little  wrinkles  connected  with  such 
work;  no  doubt  she  had  prepared  her  father's 
meals  for  a  considerable  time,  perhaps  since 
her  mother  died. 

The  man  she  called  father  was  an  ugly 
citizen  when  aroused,  or  drinking;  and  Amos 
found  himself  wondering  whether  he  ever 
descended  so  low  as  to  actually  strike  this 
child,  when  the  brute  nature  was  on  top. 

Somehow  the  very  thought  of  such  a  thing 
gave  the  boy  a  cold  chill.  He  found  himself 
shutting  his  teeth  hard  together,  and  mut- 
tering to  himself  what  he  would  do  in  case  he 
ever  happened  to  see  that  heavy  fist  raised 
to  strike  that  patient  face,  in  which  the  eyes 
shone  as  Amos  had  seen  them  in  an  innocent 
fawn;  only  hers  were  blue  like  the  skies,  in- 
stead of  hazel. 


SALL1E  137 

At  least  he  could  see  no  sign  of  any  mark 
or  bruise  about  her  face,  and  the  man  really 
seemed  to  entertain  some  sort  of  affection  for 
the  girl,  the  more  remarkable  because  no  one 
would  ever  suspect  him  of  being  capable  of 
any  such  feeling. 

When  early  supper  was  ready,  they  sat 
down  at  a  rude  table,  a  couple  of  benches 
supplying  seats  for  all. 

Amos  found  himself  opposite  the  girl,  and 
of  course  he  could  not  help  keeping  his  eyes 
upon  her  a  good  deal  of  the  time.  She  was  the 
only  object  worth  attention;  and  the  two 
rough  featured  poachers  looked  like  beings 
from  another  world  beside  Sallie. 

The  men  talked  little,  and  then  it  was  of 
ordinary  subjects.  Evidently  they  did  not 
mean  to  discuss  any  secrets  while  the  other  two 
were  alongside. 

Fom  time  to  time,  though,  Gabe  would  ask 
him  something  in  connection  with  his  camp 
mate,  Dolph  Bradley.  "While  the  woods  boy 
might  have  felt  like  declining  to  supply  them 
with  the  information  they  wished,  a  glance 
into  the  red  eyes,  and  the  scowling  face  of  his 
questioner,  was  enough  to  convince  him  that 
such  defiance  would  only  be  the  height  of 
folly.     So  he  answered  as  best  he  could. 


138     CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

Sallie  seemed  to  be  taking  more  interest  in 
him  as  the  rude  meal  progressed.  She  even 
spoke  to  him  once,  asking  if  he  would  like  to 
have  some  more  of  the  meat,  or  some  stew 
from  the  big  iron  pot. 

If  Amos  missed  the  splendid  "Kababs," 
which  Dolph  knew  so  well  how  to  prepare,  as 
he  had  eaten  it  in  canoeists'  camps,  he  at  least 
had  no  reason  to  complain  on  the  score  of 
hunger;  for  he  ate  most  heartily;  showing 
that  it  takes  something  more  than  the  shadow 
of  possible  coming  trouble  to  seriously  affect 
the  appetite  of  a  healthy  boy. 

After  the  meal  Gabe  stood  in  the  doorway 
of  the  cabin  smoking  his  pipe,  and  apparently 
listening,  as  though  he  half  expected  to  hear 
something. 

While  he  stood  there  he  laughed  as  though 
pleased.  Amos,  too,  had  been  keeping  his 
keen  ears  on  the  alert,  and  he  also  caught  the 
three  gunshots  fired  by  Dolph  at  the  suggestion 

of  Teddy. 

Amos  was  a  little  surprised  that  they  could 
hear  the  shots,  which  seemed  to  come  from 
the  quarter  where  the  men  had  shot  the  doe, 
and  captured  him.  It  gave  him  additional 
reason  to  believe  that  in  coming  to  the  cabin 
they  had  for  some  reason  or  other  followed  a 
more  or  less  circuitous  route. 


SALL1E  139 

Pretty  soon,  then,  these  wretches  would  be 
setting  their  trap  to  catch  one  or  both  of  his 
friends. 

Would  he  be  helpless  to  prevent  the  spring- 
ing of  the  same? 

Amos,  filled  with  a  new  zeal,  began  to  ob- 
serve everything  about  him,  with  the  idea  of 
utilizing  the  knowledge  later  on,  when  perhaps 
it  might  prove  valuable.  He  marked  the 
position  of  the  open  window;  saw  where  the 
men  placed  their  guns ;  figured  in  his  mind  just 
how  many  steps  it  was  to  the  door;  noted  how 
this  same  barrier  seemed  to  be  secured  with  a 
stout  bar  |  and  in  numerous  other  ways  forti- 
fied himself  for  action,  with  a  view  to  out- 
witting his  enemies,  should  so  much  as  half 
a  chance  arise. 

And  whenever  he  thought  of  Teddy,  some- 
how he  could  not  despair;  for  in  this  time  of 
trouble  the  lumberman's  wide  awake  son 
seemed  to  be  a  tower  of  strength.  Why, 
Amos  even  begun  to  pluck  up  hope  that  he 
might  even  be  able  to  outwit  these  plotters 
at  their  own  game. 

He  felt  that  the  two  boys  must  have  started 
out  to  look  for  him;  those  three  shots  told 
that  much.  Remembering  the  ability  of 
Teddy  especially  as  a  woodsman,  Amos  be- 


140     CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

lieved  they  would  experience  little  difficulty  in 
following  his  trail  up  to  the  place  of  his  en- 
counter with  the  poachers. 

From  that  point  Hackett  had  made  sure 
that  the  job  would  be  easy.  He  meant  to 
"toll"  the  other  boys  into  a  trap,  just  as  a 
little  barking  dog  is  used  by  gunners  along  the 
Chesapeake  Bay,  to  gambol  on  the  sand,  and 
so  excite  the  curiosity  of  beds  of  ducks  that 
they  keep  pushing  in  a  little  further  to  observe, 
until  within  reach  of  the  death  dealing  guns. 

Would  his  chums  wait  until  morning  before 
taking  action? 

Amos  knew  better. 

If  they  headed  toward  the  cabin,  following 
the  trail  by  the  aid  of  torchlight,  or  using  the 
lantern,  why  they  might  arrive  inside  of  a 
few  hours. 

It  was  dark  outside  now. 

The  girl  had  lighted  a  candle,  and  this,  with 
the  fire,  dimly  illuminated  the  interior  of  the 
cabin. 

The  two  men  were  huddled  over  by  the 
door,  talking  in  low  tones.  Amos  would  have 
been  glad  to  have  caught  a  part  of  what  the}r 
were  saying,  and  even  did  incline  his  ear  that 
way;  but  their  voices  only  sounded  like  a 
rumble,  and  he  soon  gave  up  all  hope  of  hear- 
ing anything  worth  while. 


SALLIE  141 

Then  lie  became  aware  of  the  fact  that  the 
girl,  washing  her  few  dishes  at  the  table  near 
by,  was  observing  him  with  something  like  a 
glance  of  amusement  in  her  blue  eyes. 

Amos  forgot  his  own  troubles  for  the  time 
being.  He  only  wished  Sallie  might  take  a 
notion  to  come  a  little  closer,  so  he  could  talk 
with  her. 

It  would  seem  as  though  his  desire  must 
have  impressed  itself  upon  his  face  in  some 
way,  for  sure  enough,  Sallie  did  edge  in  his 
direction,  still  busy  with  her  dish  pan,  and  the 
suspicious  looking  crockery  that  had  served 
them  at  supper. 

She  cast  a  quick  glance  toward  her  father, 
as  if  to  see  whether  either  of  the  men  were 
paying  the  slightest  attention.  But  they 
seemed  to  be  "head  over  ears"  interested 
in  what  they  were  discussing. 

"Won't  you  take  pity  on  me,  Sallie  and 
talk  a  little?"  said  Amos,  in  a  low  tone.  "Who 
are  you,  anyway?" 

She  smiled  back  at  Amos  as  she  replied 
swiftly : 

"Why,  Sallie  Crawley,  don't  you  know?" 

"Is  Crawley  your  real,  true  dad?"  the  boy 
went  on  to  ask. 

"Why,  yes,  of  course j  don't  you  know 
that?"  she  answered. 


142     CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

'  'I  never  heard  he  ever  had  a  wife  or  child, 
when  he  used  to  work  in  the  lumber  camp; 
and  least  of  all,  a  girl  like  you,"  Amos  went 
on,  growing  a  little  bolder. 

"Well,  he  has,"  she  replied.  "I'm  like 
my  mother  used  to  be,  because  she  had  yellow 
hair  and  blue  eyes,  dad  says.  He  often  looks 
at  me  kinder  queer,  and  shakes  his  head.  I 
guess  I  make  him  think  he  sees  her  again. " 

"  Does  he  take  you  around  everywhere  with 
him?"  Amos  next  asked. 

"Oh!  no.  Sometimes  now  I  stay  with  my 
grandmother  at  the  Soo.  But  dad,  he  gets 
lonely  once  in  a  while,  and  comes  after  me. 
I  always  go,  'cause  I  promised  her  I  'd  never, 
never  give  him  up.  And  then,  dad,  he  hates 
to  cook  for  himself — all  men  do,  I  guess." 

"But  Crawley  has  a  pretty  hard  reputation 
— excuse  me  for  saying  it,  Sallie — "he's  an 
awful  rough  man,  at  best.  Are  you  happy 
with  him?" 

She  hesitated  before  replying  to  this.  Amos 
could  see  a  shadow  cross  her  thin  face;  but 
evidently  pride  must  have  come  to  the  rescue, 
for  presently  she  tossed  her  yellow  mane  back 
and  said: 

"Why,  I  s'pose  so — least  ways  as  happy  as 
I  ought  to  expect.     There  is  just  heaps  of 


SALL1E  143 

trouble  in  this  world,  anyhow,  whichever 
way  you  take  it,  and  everybody  must  just 
grin  and  bear  it.  Dad  is  good  to  me — some- 
times. Then  he's  ugly  too;  but  that's  only 
when  he's  been  having  too  much  whiskey. 
That's  an  awful  thing  to  change  a  man.  I 
hope  you  don't  drink  it,  boy." 

"Not  a  drop  for  me,  as  long  as  I  live," 
declared  Amos.  "But  see  here,  Sallie,  it 
ain't  fair  for  me  to  know  your  name,  and  you 
to  just  call  me  'boy'.  I'm  Amos  Simmons, 
and  I '  ve  been  in  the  lumber  camps  of  Northern 
Michigan,  cookin',  and  doing  all  what-not, 
for  just  years.  Now,  I've  got  a  couple  of 
mighty  fine  chums  not  far  away,  one  of  them 
named  Teddy  Overton,  and  the  other  Dolph 
Bradley." 

She  uttered  a  little  exclamation. 

"I've  met  Teddy  Overton  once;  he's  a 
splendid  boy,"  she  said,  hastily. 

"Well,  I  guess  that's  just  right,"  remarked 
Amos.  "Now,  you  see  the  other,  Dolph, 
he 's  from  Cincinnati.  Everybody  kno ws  that 
his  father's  rich.  Why,  they've  got  oodles 
of  money.  I  kind  o'  think  your  dad  and 
Gabe,  there,  know  it;  and  right  now  they're 
a  hatching  some  measly  plan  expectin'  to 
separate  Dolph5 s  folks  from  a  lot  of  that  spare 


144     CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

cash.    And  that's  the  reason  they  pulled  me 
in  like  they  did.'' 

He  kept  one  eye  on  the  men  while  saying 
this. 

The  girl  looked  surprised. 

"Oh!  then  it  ain't  you  they're  meaning  to 
hold  up?"  she  asked. 

Amos  chuckled,  as  though  amused  at  the 
idea. 

"Precious  little  good  I'd  do  them/'  he 
said.  "They  might  keep  me  till  their  hair 
turned  white,  and  nobody 'd  pay  a  nickel 
for  lettin'  me  go  free.  But  they're  sharp, 
I  tell  you,  Sallie.  They  know  them  boys 
are  bound  to  look  for  me.  Don't  you  see, 
it's  going  to  be  a  trap,  and  I'm  the  bait. 
And  unless  you  or  me  warn  the  boys,  they're 
just  bound  to  tumble  right  into  it!" 

Amos  watched  her  thin  face  closely  when 
he  advanced  this  "feeler,"  as  he  chose  to  call 
it.    Sallie  started,  and  looked  very  serious. 

"Me?"  she  said,  slowly. 

"Why,  yes, "  Amos  went  on,  "you  wouldn't 
want  to  see  a  nice  feller  like  my  friend  Dolph, 
kept  here  like  he  was  a  dog,  would  you,  Sallie; 
till  somebody  sent  on  some  money?  If  he 
could  be  warned,  I  guess,  with  Teddy's  help, 
he  might  manage  to  keep  clear  of  the  trap. " 


SALL1E  145 

"But — what  are  you  saying,  boy — you 
want  me  to  stand  up  agin  dad,  and  upset  his 
game?  My!  but  he'd  be  awful  mad,"  she 
said,  reflectively;  and  her  face  looked  as  care- 
worn as  that  of  a  grown  woman,  Amos  thought. 

"Well,  it  might  save  him  from  going  to 
prison,  that's  all,"  he  said,  "and  I  guess  you 
wouldn't  like  that  to  happen  to  him. " 

"Oh!  no,  of  course  not.  You  see,  boy,  I 
promised  mother  to  stand  by  dad  right  along, 
and  try  to  get  him  to  quit  drinkin'  and  being 
tough.  He  could  be  decent  if  he  just  let  that 
stuff  alone,  and  kept  away  from  that  Gabe 
Hackett.  When  him  and  me  are  alone,  and 
he  ain't  got  no  drink,  he's  good.  I  keep 
hopin'  and  hopin' ;  but  it 's  terrible  hard  work. 
I  sure  don't  know  how  it's  goin'  to  end. 
Sometimes  I  'm  afraid  of  what  he  does. " 

There  was  a  almost  whimper  in  her  voice, 
that  cut  the  boy  cruelly. 

"He  don't  hit  you,  I  hope,  Sallie?"  he  said, 
glancing  in  the  direction  of  the  two  men. 

"Oh!  no,"  she  answered,  quickly,  "not 
that.  He  started  to  do  it  a  few  times,  but  I 
just  stood  there  and  looked  at  him,  like  my 
poor  mother  did  that  last  time  he  struek  her; 
and  he  just  can't  do  it,  you  see.  But  now 
you  won't  want  me  to  go  agin  him.     Do  you 


146     CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

think  it 's  right  to  ask  a  girl  to  do  that,  when 
it's  her  own  father?" 

"Yes,"  said  Amos  boldly,  "if  he  was  sick 
and  the  doctor  told  you  to  give  him  some 
bitter  medicine  that'd  make  him  well,  you'd 
sure  do  it,  no  matter  what  your  dad  said. 
Well,  you're  goin'  to  save  him  this  way,  you 
know. " 

"Yes,  yes,"  she  breathed,  puttiDg  a  hand 
to  her  breast,  as  if  the  conflict  of  emotions 
almost  overpowered  her,"  she  did  the  same 
more'n  once,  broke  his  bottle  to  save  him; 
and  that  was  why  he  hit  her. " 

"Was  she  sorry  that  she  done  it?"  asked 
Amos,  craftily. 

"  I  know  she  said,  when  she  came  to  again, 
after  lyin'  there  a  whole  hour,  with  me  a  cryin' 
my  eyes  out,  believin'  her  dead — she  said 
she  'd  do  it  again  whenever  she  had  the  chance, 
if  he  killed  her  for  it.  She  believed  she  'd  been 
sent  to  try  and  save  dad — poor  little  mother, 
she  never  lived  to  see  the  day. " 

Amos  was  feeling  somewhat  remorseful 
about  thus  working  upon  her  feelings;  but  he 
really  believed  he  was  doing  the  best  thing 
for  everybody. 

"Then  her  duty  has  come  down  to  you, 
Sallie,"  he  went  on  to  say.     "If  this  crazy 


SALL1E  147 

scheme  goes  through,  you  can  just  bet  your  dad 
will  end  his  days  locked  up  in  jail.  Now,  by 
playing  a  little  trick  on  Gabe  Hackett  you  can 
upset  his  plan  and  save  your  father.  Any- 
how, you  know  it's  Gabe's  idea,  and  he's 
just  dragging  your  weak  dad  into  it. " 

Amos  winced  a  little  when  saying  this  but 
he  felt  that  the  end  justified  the  means. 
Crawley  had  the  word  "rascal"  written  all 
over  his  face,  and  apparently  it  required  very 
little  persuading  to  "drag"  him  into  any 
scheme  that  promised  easy  money. 

Sallie  seemed  to  ponder  over  what  the  boy 
had  suggested. 

"Yes,  it's  sure  my  duty  to  save  him,  even 
if  I  has  to  seem  agin  him.  That  was  what  my 
mother  said  to  me.  Amos  Simmons,  I  guess 
you're  right.  I'd  die  if  my  dad  was  sent  to 
jail.  He  ain't  never  been  there  yet,  you 
know.  What  do  you  want  me  to  do,  boy?" 
and  she  shivered,  as  if  her  resolution  was 
made. 

"Wait  and  see,"  whispered  Amos," two  of 
us  ought  to  be  able  to  beat  a  pair  like  that. 
They're  only  bunglers,  anyway.  I'm  de- 
pendin'  on  you,  girl,  remember.  When  Teddy 
Overton  comes,  you'll  be  right  glad  you 
promised  to  help.    You've  heard  of  his  dad, 


148     CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

the  head  of  the  big  lumber  company,  ain't 
you?  Bui  laugh  a  little,  Sallie,  'cause  Gabe, 
he's  watchin'  us  like  a  hawk,  right  now.  It 
wouldn  't  be  good  for  us  if  he  thought  we  was 
hatchin'  up  a  way  to  pull  the  wool  over  his 
eyes.  Laugh,  and  make  out  as  how  I  was 
say  in'  something  funny  like." 

Sallie  understood,  and  played  her  part  so 
well  that  Hackett,  who  had  been  growing 
suspicious  at  seeing  them  with  their  heads 
together  as  if  in  confidential  conversation, 
seemed  satisfied  that  all  was  well,  for  he  went 
on  with  his  argument. 

And  so  the  minutes  crept  on.  An  hour  had 
passed  since  they  heard  those  three  shots. 
The  boys  must  be  on  the  trail,  and  presently 
Gabe  and  Crawley  would  be  considering  it 
high  time  they  set  their  trap.  And  yet  Amos 
had  not  been  able  to  figure  out  just  how  he 
was  going  to  prevent  the  capture  from  taking 
place. 


CHAPTER  iXIV 

DOLPH  HEARS  ABOUT  THE    HAUNTM)  CABIN 

Teddy  Overton  busied  himself  for  several 
minutes  around  the  spot  where  they  could 
easily  see,  a  deer  had  been  butchered. 

Dolph  watched  his  chum  eagerly,  now  and 
then  casting  an  uneasy  glance  toward  the 
scene  of  the  late  tragedy;  as  though  the  muti- 
lated remains  of  the  deer  might  tell  the  story, 
if  only  gifted  with  the  power  of  speech. 

One  thing  was  already  evident.  The  tracks 
of  the  two  lawless  poachers  told  that  their 
comrade  must  have  run  up  against  some  sort 
of  snag,  in  his  quest  for  a  bee  tree ;  and  the 
secret  of  his  failure  to  return  to  camp  was  not 
hard  to  guess. 

Teddy  seemed  to  have  finally  made  up  his 
mind,  for  he  approached  his  friend. 

"  Well,  have  you  found  out  what  happened?' ' 
asked  Dolph,  eagerly. 

"Yes,  he's  a  prisoner,  all  right,"  the  other 
replied. 

"Gabe  and  Crawley  responsible,  I  take  it?" 
questioned  Dolph. 


150     CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

"No  other.  They  shot  this  deer  out  of 
season.  Amos  happened  to  see  them  do  it. 
Because  they're  afraid  he'll  inform  the  game 
warden  of  this  district,  or  because  of  some 
other  reason,  they  concluded  to  take  our  chum 
along  with  them" 

"But  what  business  have  they  making  any 
respectable  person  a  prisoner?  Why,  those 
men  would  rob  a  trapper's  cache  of  his  pelts — 
they'd  steal  the  pennies  from  a  dead  man's 
eyes.  They  've  got  some  sort  of  a  game  up 
their  sleeve,  I  guess  and  you're  on  to  it, 
Teddy;  I  can  see  it  in  your  face. " 

"Yes,  I  think  I  can  see  through  a  millstone 
that's  got  a  hole  in  it,"  replied  the  lumber- 
man's son  and  heir,  grimly.  "It's  a  risky 
one  too  all  right.  I  knew  Hackett  was  getting 
down  grade  pretty  fast  but  I  never  thought 
he'd  be  so  desperate  as  to  try  and  kidnap  a 
fellow,  to  hold  him  for  ransom.  He  must 
be  pretty  near  the  end  of  his  rope. " 

Dolph  laughed,  as  though  amused. 

"What,  is  that  their  little  dodge?"  he  ex- 
claimed. "Well,  they  sure  have  gone  and 
barked  up  the  wrong  tree,  that  time.  Why, 
Amos  hasn't  got  a  relative  in  the  wide  world 
that  he  knows  about,  you  told  me.  It 's  your 
good  dad  that's  going  to  send  him  to  school, 


THE  HAUNTED  CABIN  151 

and  give  him  the  chance  to  study  for  being  a 
doctor  later  on.  What  silly  notion  possessed 
them  to  ever  lug  him  off?  That  Hackett 
must  be  going  into  his  dotage,  I  just  guess." 

"Hold  on,  Dolph,  perhaps  not,  when  you 
look  into  their  nice  little  game  a  bit  further. 
Amos  hasn't  any  cash,  himself,  but  he's  got 
a  friend  who  thinks  a  heap  of  him,  and  whose 
daddy  might  put  up  ransom  money.  That 
friend  is ; myself,  you  know?" 

"I  see,"  muttered  Dolph,  a  little  uneasily, 
"not  so  dull  a  game  after  all." 

"  They  may  have  even  a  better  card  up  their 
sleeve,"  continued  Teddy,  "I  notice  that 
when  they  left  here  those  men  took  no  pains 
to  cover  up  their  tracks.  Fact  is,  it  looks  to 
me  as  they  might  be  just  inviting  us  to  follow. 
That  would  indicate  just  one  thing — that  Amos 
was  carried  off  to  hold  him  as  a  bait  to  trap 
somebody  else — you  and  me.  Once  they  had 
the  lot  of  us,  you  see  they  could  send  Amos  to 
make  terms  for  our  surrender. " 

"Whew!  you  give  me  a  bad  feeling,  Teddy ) 
but  honest  now,  it  does  sound  reasonable 
like.  I  wouldn't  put  it  past  that  big  Gabe 
Hackett.  I  remember  now,  how  he  kept 
looking  at  me,  queerlike,  out  of  the  corner  of 
his  eye.    But  this  is  a  desperate  affair.     Do 


152     CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

you  think  they'd  dare  try  such  a  Job?  If 
caught  it  would  mean  a  long  jail  sentence. " 

" That's  so,  but  Hackett  is  getting  more 
reckless  about  consequences,  right  along.  Like 
enough  he  figures  on  skipping  across  to  Canada 
once  he  gets  hold  of  a  good  bunch  of  the  long 
green.  You  can  be  sure,  Dolph,  this  is  a  trap 
laid  for  us." 

"Then  we'd  be  silly  to  fall  into  the  same, 
I  take  it, "  declared  the  other. 

"We  certainly  won't,  if  we  know  it,"  de- 
clared Teddy.  "We'll  take  up  the  trail,  and 
see  if  we  can  get  our  chum  out  of  their  hands; 
but  let  us  never  forget  that  we  're  up  against 
a  pair  of  prime  woodsmen,  who  know  pretty 
much  all  the  tricks  of  the  trade.  And  while 
we  follow  the  trail  we  must  arrange  it  so  they 
can't  lay  hands  on  both  of  us.  You're  the 
one  they  want  most,  I  take  it,  Dolph.  I 
rather  think  Gabe  would  hesitate  a  little  to 
hold  me,  because  he  knows  what  my  dad  can 
be,  once  he's  roused  up.  It's  getting  dark, 
and  we'll  have  to  use  the  lantern.  So  while 
I  go  ahead,  to  follow  the  trail,  do  you  hang 
back,  just  so  far,  with  your  scatter  gun  ready 
to  pepper  the  rascals,  if  they  show  up. " 

"All right,"  said  Dolph,  seriously,  "I  want 
to  say  right  now  that  I  think  your  little  plan 's 


THE  HAUNTED  CABIN  153 

a  good  one.  The  sooner  we  start  the  better. 
Amos,  poor  fellow,  will  be  thinking  we  mean 
to  desert  him.  Lead  on,  Teddy,  and  tell  me 
just  how  far  you  want  me  to  fall  back." 

Now,  in  all  probability  Dolph  had  never 
fired  a  shot  at  a  human  being  in  all  his  young 
life.  The  idea  was  more  or  less  abhorrent  to 
him;  it  did  not  appeal  to  him  at  all.  But  he 
came  of  soldier  stock.  Some  of  his  people 
had  borne  an  illustrious  part  in  all  the  wars 
of  the  country  from  the  time  of  the  Revolution 
down  to  the  unpleasantness  with  Spain,  in 
which  his  father  had  served  as  a  colonel. 

When  the  test  really  came,  doubtless  Dolph 
would  not  be  found  lacking  in  those  essential 
qualities  that  had  distinguished  his  forebears. 

As  soon  as  Teddy  called  out  the  one  word 
"come,"  he  started  after  him,  and  managed 
from  that  moment  to  keep  just  so  far  in  the 
rear  that  his  presence  could  not  be  easily 
discovered  by  any  observer. 

In  this  way,  then,  was  the  pursuit  taken 
up. 

Teddy  had  little  trouble  about  sticking  to 
the  plain  trail.  He  could  have  covered  the 
ground  twice  as  fast,  had  he  not  been  keeping 
an  eye  constantly  ahead,  fearing  some  sort  of 
ambush. 


154    CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

So  the  better  part  of  an  hour  passed.  By 
this  time  an  idea  had  come  to  the  one  who 
was  doing  the  trailing.  It  happened  that 
the  old,  long  abandoned  cabin  once  used  by 
fur  gatherers,  was  known  to  Teddy  Overton. 
And  now  he  began  to  feel  confident  that  the 
trail  was  leading  toward  that  spot. 

Accordingly  he  signaled  to  Dolph  to  ap- 
proach. 

"I  feel  dead  sure  I  know  where  they're 
heading  for,"  he  said  as  the  other  drew  up. 
"And  it  might  save  considerable  time  if  we 
struck  out  straight  for  the  old  cabin  instead 
of  following  their  trail.  And  besides,"  he 
added,  " perhaps  we'll  escape  a  trap  by 
springing  this  surprise  on  Gabe  and  Crawley." 

"Old  cabin,  you  say?"  repeated  Dolph, 
"  whoever  lived  there,  Teddy?" 

"Some  trappers,  many  years  ago.  There's 
a  dark  story  told  about  a  tragedy  that  hap- 
pened there.  One  trapper  went  crazy,  they 
said,  from  too  much  strong  drink.  He  killed 
his  companions,  and  froze  to  death  himself. 
They  were  found  there  in  the  Spring  by  some 
timber  cruisers,  looking  for  new  lands  up 
here.  Nobody  has  ever  lived  there  since. 
Now  and  then  some  wanderer  has  put  in  a 
night  in  the  cabin,  but  they  say  it's  haunted; 


THE  HAUNTED  CABIN  155 

and  that  those  trappers*  spirits  come  back  to 
fight  over  again  their  long  ago  battles.  I  was 
at  the  cabin  once,  in  the  day  time,  though.  A 
lot  of  ugly  bats  flew  out.  We  didn  't  see  any 
spirits,  either.  But  then,  I  don't  think  I'd 
care  to  stay  a  week  in  that  ramshackle  old 
hut." 

"Well  of  all  things,  a  haunted  cabin  take 
the  cake,"  declared  Dolph.  "Now,  I'd 
just  like  to  play  ghost,  for  once,  and  give 
those  fellows  a  scare  that'd  make  their  hair 
stand  up  on  end. " 

"Shall  we  make  a  bee  line  for  the  hut,  as  I 
said?"  asked  Teddy. 

"Sure.  You're  the  captain  of  this  relief 
expedition.  Whatever  you  say  for  me  to  do 
I'll  try  and  carry  out,  you  understand, 
Teddy." 

"Good  enough.  And  I'll  warrant  you 
never  dreamed  of  such  a  business  as  this 
when  you  helped  me  map  out  our  little  canoe 
trip  across  the  neck  of  Michigan  to  White 
Fish  Bay  and  perhaps  the  Pictured  Rocks, 
eh,  Dolph?" 

The  other  fairly  snorted  his  disgust. 

"Well,  I  should  think  not,"  he  remarked; 
"and  who  would?  Why,  if  I'd  been  over  in 
Greece,   or   Spain,   or  Italy,   I  might  have 


156    CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

guessed  that  something  of  the  kind  would 
have  turned  up  5  but  away  up  in  this  Michi- 
gan wilderness — well,  it  faizes  me,  all  right. 
But  then,  I  reckon  human  nature's  pretty 
much  the  same  all  over  the  world.  The  temp- 
tation to  get  hold  of  the  mighty  dollar  makes 
men  do  heaps  of  queer  stunts,  I  don't  care 
whether  they're  white,  red,  black  or  yellow. 
Now,  I  guess  you  're  intending  to  sneak  around, 
and  creep  up  to  this  same  haunted  cabin  by 
the  rear  route?" 

"Yes,  that's  the  game,"  replied  Teddy. 

"That  is,  while  these  two  poacher  chaps 
are  lying  in  a  snug  little  ambush  at  some  point 
along  their  own  trail,  why,  we  can  be  spying 
on  the  cabin  on  our  own  account?"  Dolph 
went  on  to  remark. 

"You're  on,  I  see,"  chuckled  the  other. 

"It  looks  good  to  me,"  Dolph  continued, 
reflectively.  "As  I  said  before,  tell  me  what 
to  do,  and  I  '11  carry  it  out  to  the  letter. " 

"I  hope  we  won't  have  to  get  to  the  fight- 
ing stage  of  the  game,"  Teddy  remarked,  as 
they  kept  pushing  forward  in  a  direct  line; 
"but  if  we  do  I  know  I  can  depend  on  you 
to  back  me  up.  There  are  other  ways  to  win 
out.    Well,  here  goes  to  douse  the  glim." 

He  blew  the  lantern  out  and  hung  it  on  the 
branch  of  a  tree  he  marked. 


THE  HAUNTED  CABIN  157 

"I  can  find  it  again  given  half  a  chance,' ' 
he  said;  "and  now  we've  got  to  do  the  rest 
of  it  in  the  dark." 

Through  the  silent  pine  woods  they  crept 
like  shadows,  flitting  from  tree  to  tree. 

Now  and  then  Teddy  would  pause  to  listen, 
for  caution  had  become  second  nature  with 
the  boy  and  he  did  not  mean  to  lead  his 
friend  into  trouble,  if  he  knew  it.  But  no 
sound  came  to  their  ears,  at  least  nothing 
that  would  indicate  the  presence  of  human 
beings  near. 

Then  through  the  trees  they  caught  the 
gleam  of  a  light,  which,  from  its  steady  char- 
acter they  believed  must  come  from  the  small 
window  of  a  cabin. 


CHAPTER  XV 

THE   POWER   OF   MUSIC 

Dolph  could  not  but  watch  the  actions  of 
his  camp  mate  with  considerable  curiosity 
and  satisfaction,  at  this  stage  of  the  game. 

Teddy  had  had  more  or  less  experience  in 
woodcraft,  and  long  ago  learned  many  of  the 
lessons  so  essential  in  the  make-up  of  a  clever 
still  hunter.  To  him  the  leaves  of  the  forest 
spoke  as  eloquently  as  printed  pages  in  a  book 
did  to  the  other  canoe  cruiser.  He  could 
read  the  language  of  the  trail,  and  discover  a 
score  of  valuable  things,  from  signs  that  would 
never  be  noticed  by  ordinary  eyes  or  at  least 
deemed  of  no  importance. 

When  an  observing  lad  has  spent  consider- 
able time  in  these  Northern  woods,  the  voices 
of  Nature  speak  to  him  in  the  wailing  of  the 
wind  whispering  secrets  as  it  stirs  the  branches 
of  the  pines;  he  hears  another  story  in  the 
thunder  tones  of  the  rushing  rapids;  the  crash 
of  the  summer  storm;  the  whisper  of  sunrise; 
the  chatter  of  the  little  woods  folks  excited 
over  his  presence  in  their  favorite  haunts — 


THE  POWER  OF  MUSIC  159 

he  learns  by  degrees  to  match  his  wits  against 
their  cunning,  and  to  discover  every  secret 
connected  with  their  mode  of  living,  so  that 
the  curtain  of  mystery  is  rolled  away  for  his 
eyes,  and  he  lives  in  a  world  totally  unknown 
to  many  others  of  his  kind. 

Teddy  had  practiced  this  art  of  creeping 
silently  through  the  woods,  when  stalking 
the  timid  deer,  and  perhaps  also  the  lordly 
caribou  over  in  Canada.  He  certainly  had 
all  the  little  wrinkles  down  pretty  fine — at 
least  Dolph  thought  so,  as  he  followed  in  his 
wake,  endeavoring  the  best  way  he  could  to 
imitate  these  noiseless  movements. 

So,  foot  by  foot,  and  yard  by  yard,  they 
drew  nearer  the  strange  cabin. 

As  yet  not  a  sound  had  been  heard,  to  indi- 
cate that  the  place  had  any  inhabitant; 
though  the  fight  shining  from  the  small  open- 
ing that  might  be  called  a  window,  must  be 
set  down  as  conclusive  evidence  on  that  score, 
since  fights  ordinarily  do  not  spring  into  ex- 
istence without  the  aid  of  human  hands. 

Twice  Teddy  halted  until  his  chum  came 
alongside.  Then  he  would  whisper  a  few 
words  in  his  ear,  after  which  the  forward 
movement  would  be  resumed. 

All  at  once  both  boys  came  to  a  sudden 


160     CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

pause,  and  crouched  there,  listening  to  certain 
sounds  that  had  broken  loose. 

Plainly  these  sprang  from  a  fiddle — a  violin 
is  unknown  by  any  other  name  than  this,  in 
the  backwoods  country,  where  the  " fiddler" 
is  always  in  great  demand  at  the  husking 
bees  and  barn  dances. 

Undoubtedly  some  one  was  sawing  a  bow 
across  the  catgut  strings  of  an  instrument  and 
it  was  evident  from  the  chords  resulting  from 
this  effort  that  the  player  was  no  greenhorn. 

Teddy  pinched  the  arm  of  his  chum  when 
the  latter  came  alongside,  and  whispered, 
"Amos." 

He  had  heard  the  woods  boy  scrape  a  bow 
more  than  a  few  times,  and  recognized  his 
" touch"  instantly.  Indeed,  Teddy  had  more 
than  once  regretted  that  he  had  decided 
against  the  other  bringing  his  old  fiddle  along. 
With  it  in  camp  Amos  would  have  been  en- 
abled to  make  many  an  evening  around  the 
fire  seem  more  sociable. 

Apparently  then,  Amos  must  have  dis- 
covered some  sort  of  old  instrument  in  the 
cabin  occupied  by  Crawley,  the  trapper  and 
poacher.  Overtaken  by  an  irresistible  incli- 
nation to  make  music,  he  had  eagerly  pounced 
upon  the  same,  tuned  up,  and  started  in. 


THE  POWER  OF  MUSIC         161 

The  music  stopped  several  times,  and  a 
twanging  followed.  Amos  evidently  was  hav- 
ing more  or  less  trouble  in  making  the  old 
fiddle  behave. 

Somehow  the  sounds  thrilled  Teddy,  and 
he  found  himself  wondering  what  the  result 
would  be.  Would  the  two  scoundrels,  pos- 
sibly in  hiding  close  by,  rush  upon  the  scene, 
and  demand  that  the  noise  stop  forthwith? 

After  all,  why  should  they  do  this?  It  was 
an  object  with  them  to  have  the  other  two  boys 
believe  that  Amos  was  being  suitably  enter- 
tained, so  that  with  suspicions  wholly  dis- 
armed they  would  walk  innocently  into  the 
trap? 

Ah!  now  the  woods  boy  seemed  to  fancy 
that  he  had  tuned  the  old  violin  as  well  as 
might  be  done;  either  that,  or  else  he  could 
no  longer  hold  his  desire  to  play  under  bonds. 

With  a  sudden  swing  of  the  bow  he  started 
into  "Money  Musk,"  always  a  prime  favorite 
among  the  loggers  in  the  winter  camps,  who, 
in  their  times  of  leisure,  danced  for  an  hour, 
and  usually  to  some  of  these  good  old  tunes. 

Amos  was  a  "  good  one  "  with  the  bow.  He 
could  make  that  fiddle  fairly  laugh  and  weep 
by  turns,  as  he  coaxed  the  vibrating  strings. 

Dolph  had  heard  many  kinds  of  music  in 


162     CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

different  corners  of  the  wide  world,  whither 
he  had  traveled  with  his  father.  He  had  sat 
and  listened  to  the  most  famous  artists  of 
Europe,  and  eagerly  drank  in  the  sounds  as 
only  a  true  lover  of  melodious  combinations 
can.  He  had  felt  his  soul  aroused  by  the 
grand  crash  of  orchestras  led  by  celebrated 
composers.  He  had  sat  through  scores  of 
operas,  and  applauded  the  famous  song  birds, 
with  voices  worth  thousands  of  dollars  a 
night  to  the  fortunate  possessors. 

And  yet  this  boy  could  not  remember  of 
ever  having  been  so  thrilled  by  the  sound 
of  music  in  all  his  life,  as  when  crouching 
there  in  that  thicket,  just  outside  the 
" haunted"  cabin,  listening  to  the  weird  play- 
ing of  his  camp  mate,  Amos. 

Say  what  you  will,  the  surroundings  have 
everything  to  do  with  the  effect  produced  by 
music.  A  wild,  barbaric  crash  of  torn  toms 
appeals  more  effectively  to  sentiment  if  heard 
among  the  queer  lodges  of  a  Zulu  " Kraal" 
in  South  Africa,  than  the  same  strain  could 
ever  do  under  the  towering  roof  of  a  London 
music  hall. 

So  it  was  in  this  case.  The  danger  that 
hovered  over  them,  the  state  of  Nature  by 
which  they  were  surrounded;     and  the  fact 


THE  POWER  OF  MUSIC         163 

that  this  lonely  cabin  in  the  pine  woods  was 
said  to  be  haunted  by  spirits  of  the  dead 
trappers — all  these  things  united  to  thrill 
the  nerves  of  an  excitable  boy  like  Dolph 
Bradley,  and  give  him  the  sensation  of  his 
life. 

The  fiddle  seemed  to  moan  and  laugh  and 
even  sob,  as  the  delighted  Amos  drew  his 
magic  bow  over  the  strings,  until  the  whole 
vicinity  appeared  to  be  filled  with  strange 
spirit  voices. 

Had  any  wandering  basket-making  Chip- 
pewa Indian,  or  nomad  timber  cruiser,  his 
mind  filled  with  an  ardent  belief  in  ghosts, 
chanced  to  pass  within  hearing  distance  of 
those  ramshackle  walls  on  this  particular 
night,  the  chances  were  he  would  have  fled 
in  abject  terror,  upon  hearing  such  strange 
sounds. 

When  Amos  had  reached  the  end  of  his 
tune,  after  repeating  the  refrain  in  a  minor 
key,  he  immediately  struck  up  "Dixie,"  and 
from  this  whipped  off  upon  the  well-known 
strains  of  the  "Arkansaw  Traveler." 

That  air  has  aroused  wild  enthusiasm  in 
many  a  concert  hall,  but  it  certainly  never 
thrilled  human  hearts  more  than  on  this 
occasion. 


164    CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

Dolph  could  hardly  keep  his  feet  still  § 
while  Teddy  was  drawing  himself  along  in 
the  direction  of  the  little  window,  as  though 
bent  upon  investigating,  and  seeing  for  him- 
self if  it  could  be  Amos  producing  those 
wondrous  strains. 

When  Teddy  presently  reached  the  wall 
of  the  old  cabin,  he  raised  his  head  until  his 
wondering  eyes  took  in  the  strange  scene 
beyond.  It  was  so  that  Dolph  found  his 
chum  when  he,  too,  reached  the  spot,  to  also 
stare. 

Amos  was  in  plain  view,  squatted  on  the 
floor.  He  held  the  end  of  the  old  instrument 
tucked  under  his  chin,  regulation  fashion, 
with  the  most  caressing  air  imaginable.  For 
the  time  being  Amos  had  apparently  for- 
gotten his  surroundings,  forgotten  everything 
else  in  the  world,  perhaps,  save  that  after  a 
long  lapse  he  was  again  happy  in  being  able 
to  coax  those  sobbing  strings  to  give  out  the 
music  he  loved  so  well. 

Indeed,  just  then  his  eyes  were  shut,  as 
though  he  might  be  in  a  half  trance;  but 
Teddy  knew  this  was  a  favorite  habit  with 
the  young  lumberjack,  indicating  that  he 
was  wrapped  up  in  his  playing,  and  in  the 
seventh  heaven  of  delight. 


THE  POWER  OF  MUSIC         165 

But  this  was  not  all. 

Sitting  on  a  low  three-legged  stool  close  by, 
and  leaning  forward,  with  her  chin  held  in  her 
hand,  and  her  big  blue  eyes  fastened  upon 
the  fiddler  in  wonder,  was  a  girl  of  ten  or 
twelve  years  of  age.  She  seemed  actually 
fascinated  by  those  wonderful  strains  which 
now  sprang  from  the  instrument  that  was 
doubtless  often  sadly  racked  by  her  uncul- 
tured father,  in  his  endeavor  to  play. 

Now,  Teddy  knew  full  well  about  the  old 
story  of  mermaids  tempting  luckless  mariners 
to  their  doom.  He  also  understood  that 
many  a  trap  has  been  baited  with  music  or  a 
pretty  face  in  times  gone  by.  But  every- 
thing went  to  tell  him  that  Amos  was  playing 
just  because  he  had  discovered  an  old  fiddle, 
and  not  that  his  captors  wanted  him  to  do 
so. 

Indeed  this  fact  was  immediately  proven, 
for  even  as  Teddy  looked  into  the  place  he 
detected  a  movement  in  the  direction  of  the 
door,  which  swung  open,  to  admit  the  burly 
figure  of  the  game  poacher,  Crawley. 

Teddy's  first  thought  was  that  the  man 
had  become  enraged  at  this  unwarranted  out- 
burst of  sound  from  the  boy  prisoner,  and 
that  he  had  rushed  to  the  spot  to  hoarsely 


166    CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

demand  that  the  noise  cease,  on  pain  of 
punishment. 

He  even  anticipated  seeing  Crawley  foaming 
at  the  mouth  knowing  what  a  vile  temper 
the  greasy  old  wretch  was  said  to  possess. 
Fearing  that  Amos  might  be  in  danger  of 
rough  handling,  Teddy  gripped  the  gun  he 
held,  and  instantly  resolved  to  block  that 
little  game,  if  it  were  tried. 

Never  was  he  more  mistaken. 

Crawley,  it  is  true,  came  into  the  cabin 
with  the  impetuosity  of  a  hurricane,  and  his 
hard  face  was  indeed  working  with  some  sort 
of  emotion,  but  it  was  far  from  anger. 

Indeed,  the  man  seemed  to  be  quivering 
with  eagerness,  and  the  hand  he  stretched  out 
toward  the  boy  on  the  floor  was  more  indic- 
ative of  pleading  than  wrath. 

Crawley  was  at  that  moment  fairly  trans- 
formed. Deep  down  in  his  rough  soul  he 
must  have  had  a  natural  love  for  music  which, 
owing  to  his  clumsiness  and  lack  of  education 
could  never  find  an  adequate  outlet.  Old 
sinner  that  he  was,  probably  he  had  stood 
many  a  time  and  listened  as  if  charmed,  to 
some  song  bird  in  the  brush;  and  even  the 
cheery  call  of  the  bobolink,  heard  in  the  early 
Spring,  may  have  had  the  power  to  make  him 


THE  POWER  OF  MUSIC         167 

look  up  and  listen,  when  in  the  act  of  taking 
a  mink  or  a  muskrat  from  his  traps. 

Teddy  saw  this,  and  greatly  marveled.  He 
realized  that  every  day  he  lived  it  was  pos- 
sible for  him  to  learn  something  new.  Be- 
cause a  man  might  be  rough  and  uncouth, 
and  perhaps  even  lawless  in  his  way  of  living, 
was  no  evidence  that  he  might  not  have  a 
streak  of  good  deep  down  in  his  nature. 

In  Crawley  it  was  perhaps  this  passion  for 
music  i  but  Teddy  guessed  it  was  so  very 
deep  down,  that  it  was  hardly  likely  to  do 
himself,  or  any  one  else  in  the  world,  any 
good. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

WHEN   CRAWLEY  LOST  HIS  HEAD 

Teddy  did  not  move,  nor  did  Dolph.  They 
could  not  have  done  so,  even  had  they  wanted, 
so  enthralled  did  that  strange  scene  hold 
them. 

No  one  looked  toward  the  window,  fortu- 
nately, and  consequently  the  presence  there 
of  the  two  peeping  canoe  boys  was  not  dis- 
covered. 

Of  course,  this  sudden  coming  of  Crawley 
upon  the  scene  had  created  a  diversion.  The 
girl  started  up  with  a  little  cry  of  grief,  as 
though  bewailing  the  possible  finish  of  her 
pleasure.  Hearing  all  this,  Amos,  too,  ceased 
to  draw  his  bow  across  the  strings,  and  as 
the  music  abruptly  ceased,  he  opened  his 
eyes. 

"Go  on,  consarn  ye!"  exclaimed  Crawley, 
in  a  voice  that  fairly  trembled  with  eagerness, 
"keep  right  along  wid  yer  fiddlin'  I  tell  yer. 
Don't  yer  dary  ter  stop  jest  thar — finish  that 
piece  like  ye  was  a-doin' !  By  glory !  ain  't 
I  been  a-tryin'  ter  git  the  second  part  o*  that 
Traveler  tune  this  ten  months,   an*   allers 


CRAWLEY  LOST  HIS  HEAD      169 

swingin'  right  around  inter  the  fust  half  agin. 
Go  on,  boy,  play  it  all  ther  way  through,  I 
tells  yer!  I'm  jest  fairly  wild  ter  hear  how 
she  goes.  By  gum —  but  ye  kin  make  thet  ole 
fiddle  o'  mine  talk  some.  Ye  jest  fair  seem 
ter  burn  the  strings  wid  yer  bow.  I  ain't 
never  heerd  sech music.  Goon!  Go  on,  boy, 
play!" 

Crawley  was  so  excited  that  he  fairly 
shouted  these  words  at  Amos,  who  hardly 
understood  what  it  all  meant,  but  sat  there 
with  his  bow  upraised,  staring. 

Teddy  came  very  near  laughing  out  loud 
at  the  singular  coincidence.  He  remembered 
hearing  his  father  tell  of  an  old  Italian  pro- 
fessor of  music  in  Cincinnati,  Tosso  by  name, 
who,  whenever  he  played  this  favorite  selection 
in  public  used  to  tell  a  humorous  story  in 
connection  with  it. 

This  was  to  the  effect  that  once  upon  a 
time  he  was  riding  horseback  through  the 
backwoods  of  Arkansas,  and  asked  for  accom- 
modations over  night  of  the  owner  of  a  cabin, 
who  was  sitting  on  a  bench  sawing  away  at  a 
fiddle.  So  while  he  kept  on  going  over  and 
over  the  same  melody,  in  his  rude  way,  he 
shook  his  head  as  if  he  did  not  like  to  be  in- 
terrupted, aud  just  took  time  to  say  he  had 
no  room  or  food  to  spare;    after  which  he 


170    CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

harked  back,  and  began  the  same  old  strain 
over  and  over. 

Thereupon  the  music  master  had  asked  for 
the  loan  of  the  battered  fiddle  a  few  minutes, 
and  he  would  show  him  how  the  Arkansaw 
Traveler  should  be  played  all  the  way  through. 
The  settler's  delight  was  unbounded.  He 
declared  the  traveler  must  stay  over  night, 
even  if  he  and  the  old  woman  had  to  sleep 
in  the  loft;  and  he  was  welcome  to  all  the 
food  and  whiskey  they  possessed;  for  he  said 
that  for  ten  years  he  had  been  constantly 
trying  to  catch  onto  that  second  half,  which 
always  eluded  him. 

So  history  sometimes  repeats  itself. 

Amos  finally  seemed  to  comprehend  what 
was  wanted,  and  that  he  was  not  to  be  made 
a  victim  of  violence.  With  a  satisfied  grin, 
he  once  more  tucked  the  end  of  the  old  fiddle 
under  his  square  chin,  and  began  to  draw  the 
bow  squeakingly  across  the  taut  strings, 
presently  starting  off  upon  the  desired  tune. 

And  when  he  jumped  from  the  first  to  the 
second  part  it  was  simply  amazing  to  watch 
the  manner  of  the  greasy  old  game  poacher. 

His  face  lighted  up  with  ecstacy,  his  hand 
twitched,  as  if  drawing  the  bow  back  and 
forth,  the  fingers  of  the  other  worked  con- 
vulsively as  if  engaged  in  touching  the  strings, 


CRAWLEY  LOST  HIS  HEAD       171 

while  even  his  moccasined  feet  started  to 
tread  a  measure — so  great  is  the  power  of 
music  over  the  human  soul. 

Teddy  wondered  what  effect  this  new  pecul- 
iar incident  might  have  upon  the  relations 
existing  between  Amos  and  his  captors. 

Would  Crawley  allow  his  gratitude  to  the 
boy  to  interfere  with  the  scheme  which  he 
and  Big  Gabe  were  endeavoring  to  put 
through? 

Remembering  that  Gabe  would  have  to  be 
reckoned  with  in  the  matter,  and  that  no 
love  of  music  was  apt  to  sway  him  from  the 
course  he  had  mapped  out,  Teddy  felt  very 
doubtful  on  this  score. 

Crawley  would  not  let  the  boy  stop  playing 
when  he  reached  the  end  of  the  tune. 

"Play  her  some  more,  boy,  play  her  fre- 
quent-like! I've  been  awaitin'  ter  git  thet 
same  chune  complete  so  long  now,  seems  like 
I  never  could  hear  it  enuff.  It's  great, 
that's  what,  ain't  it,  Sallie,  girl?  Don't 
yer  feel  glad  now  to  see  yer  ole  dad  lookin' 
so  happy  like?  Play  on,  Amos,  play  right 
along!  Don't  ye  dar'  stop — it'd  be  nigh  as 
much  as  yer  life  was  wuth  to  disapp'int  me 
now." 

And  Amos  played,  with  a  humorous  look 
on  his  face,  and  perhaps  a  sly  wink  in  the 


172     CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

direction  of  the  girl,  who  had  resumed  her 
former  rapt  pose,  with  her  chin  buried  deep 
in  the  cup  of  her  hand. 

Crawley  could  not  have  been  drinking,  at 
least  to  excess,  so  it  was  not  liquor  that  in- 
fluenced him;  but  as  the  music  proceeded, 
his  feet  began  to  move  in  unison,  aud  his 
arms  took  to  swinging.  Almost  before  Teddy- 
realized  it,  the  bulky  form  of  the  trapper  was 
gyrating  around  the  room;  he  was  so  wrought 
up  that  he  could  not  keep  still. 

Crawley  had  a  pretty  hard  name  among 
the  loggers,  and  those  who  sought  the  pelts 
of  the  various  wild  animals  of  the  Northern 
pines.  He  was  known  as  a  quarrelsome  man, 
and  a  fighter  who  had  wrought  more  or  less 
trouble  wherever  he  roved — in  the  camps  of 
timber  cruisers,  among  the  lumberjacks, 
and  with  other  trappers;  but  he  certainly  did 
not  look  like  a  dangerous  citizen  at  that 
particular  moment,  while  circling  around  the 
shanty,  snapping  his  fingers,  trying  to  keep 
on  whistling  the  recovered  air,  so  as  to  im- 
press it  on  his  memory,  and  otherwise  con- 
ducting himself  after  the  manner  of  a  happy, 
carefree  squatter,  regardless  of  the  morrow. 

While  Teddy  was  trying  to  make  up  his 
mind  as  to  what  the  eventual  outcome  of  this 


CRAWLEY  LOST  HIS  HEAD      173 

strange  situation  might  be,  he  saw  another 
form  appear  in  the  doorway. 

Big    Gabe  Hackett! 

The  timber  cruiser  strode  into  the  cabin, 
his  red  face  filled  with  both  astonishment 
and  anger. 

Plainly  the  weird  strains  of  the  "  Arkansaw 
Traveler"  did  not  appeal  to  any  emotion 
in  his  soul.  Music  might  have  charms  to 
soothe  the  savage,  but  it  failed  to  awaken 
any  responsive  chord  in  the  breast  of  this  giant 
of  the  pine  woods. 

Crawley  had  now  seized  upon  his  child, 
and  was  holding  her  to  him  while  making 
ungainly  attempts  to  keep  time  with  the 
rhythm  of  the  music.  Sallie  actually  smiled 
for  the  first  time  since  Amos  had  entered  the 
place }  and  it  was  a  smile  that  lighted  up  her 
elfin  features  until  in  the  boy's  mind  they 
looked  almost  angelic. 

Imagine  the  disgust  of  the  scheming  Big 
Gabe  to  come  rushing  into  the  cabin  and  dis- 
cover such  a  remarkable  thing  as  this  going 
on. 

His  heavy  voice  sounded  above  the  music, 
and  the  beat  of  Crawley's  feet  on  the  floor. 

"  Stop  it!  Say,  Crawley,  hev  ye  gone  clean 
crazy?  What  sorter  kerryin'  on  d'ye  call 
this  here,  anyhow?     Quit  it,  I  say  and  act 


174     CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

sensible.  Hoy  dye  'spect  we're  a  goin'  ter 
work  out  our  game  if  ye  play  the  big  baby. 
Stop  fiddlin,'  boy!" 

Amos,  of  course,  obeyed,  and  with  the 
inspiration  of  the  music  gone,  the  traveler 
also  ceased  capering  around  the  room. 

He  did  look  a  little  shame-faced  as  he  turned 
upon  his  confederate;  but  at  the  same  time 
there  was  a  triumphant  glow  in  his  eyes  as  he 
burst  out  with: 

"Why,  hang  it,  Gabe,  the  boy  kin  play 
Arkansaw  all  the  way  through — what  d'ye 
know  about  thet?  Here  I  been  jest  wild  ter 
ketch  the  hang  o'  thet  second  half  fer  a  coon's 
age.  P'raps  yer  don't  jest  understand  what 
thet  means  ter  me,  Gabe.  Blame  yer  games — 
what  do  I  keer,  so  long's  I  lerns  thet  chune. 
Why,  I'd  risk  my  bones  ter  git  hold  of  it." 

"Wall,  if  ye  keep  on  a  goin'  like  I  seen  ye 
jest  now,  chances  be  ye '11  resk  more'n  yer 
bones;  fer  I'll  be  tempted  ter  fill  yer  full  o' 
holes.  What  d  'ye  think  I  '11  stand  fer,  Craw- 
ley? I  ain  't  playin'  this  game  fer  the  fun  of  it. 
Money  talks,  and  purty  loud  too,  sometimes. 
Now's  one  o'  'em.  S'pose  ye  let  all  this 
monkey-shine  business  drop  fer  the  present, 
an*  play  the  game  fer  what  it's  worth.  Put 
that  fiddle  down,  boy,  drat  ye,  and  don't 


CRAWLEY  LOST  HIS  HEAD      175 

tech  it  agin,  'less  ye  want  ter  feel  the  heft 
o'  my  hard  fist.  Crawley,  come  with  me, 
back  ter  whar  we  was  lyin'  in  ambush." 

Big  Gabe  spoke  in  a  determined  way,  and 
evidently  possessed  considerable  power  over 
his  weaker-willed  companion.  For  Crawley, 
although  scowling,  took  a  step  forward,  as  if 
to  obey. 

It  was  then  that  little  Sallie  caught  hold 
of  the  hand  of  her  rough  father,  and  sought 
to  detain  him.  She  understood  what  these 
men  had  in  view,  and  taking  advantage  of  the 
temporary  softening  of  her  parent,  due  to  the 
power  of  the  music  on  his  soul,  he  hoped  she 
might  persuade  him  into  refusing  to  take  part 
in  the  attempted  abduction  of  the  millionaire's 
son. 

l> Stay  here  with  me,  daddy,  won't  you?" 
she  pleaded.  "He  knows  ever  so  many  more 
tunes,  and  he'll  play  'em  all,  if  ye  wanter 
hear  'em,  won't  you,  Amos?  Don't  go  out 
again,  please  don't?  Let  Big  Gabe  alone; 
he'll  only  get  you  into  trouble.  Stay  here 
with  your  little  Sallie,  won't  you,  daddy?" 

The  man  seemed  to  hesitate.  He  looked 
doubtfully  in  the  face  of  the  child,  whereupon 
Hackett  broke  out  in  harsh  language.  He 
also   made   a   suggestive   motion   with    the 


176     CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

Marlin  repeating  shot  gun,  which  he  had  taken 
possession  of;  and  whatever  the  spasm  of 
better  feeling  that  had  dominated  Crawley 
lately,  if  was  speedily  vanquished  by  his  love 
of  gain. 

He  suddenly  muttered  some  words,  and 
flung  the  detaining  hand  of  his  child  from 
him.  The  conflict  between  the  elements  mak- 
ing up  his  nature  had  not  lasted  long. 

So  Crawley,  with  a  scowl  toward  Amos,  as 
though  blaming  the  boy  for  bringing  about 
all  this  trouble,  strode  out  of  the  door  after  his 
companion,  and  the  two  in  the  cabin  were 
left  alone  again. 

Teddy  had  pulled  his  companion  down 
alongside  him  before  this  happened;  indeed, 
when  Hackett  first  appeared  upon  the  scene; 
for  he  feared  lest  the  restless  eyes  of  the  big 
timber  cruiser,  like  unto  those  of  the  red 
fox  which  he  had  often  been  compared  with 
for  craftiness,  might  in  roving  around,  dis- 
cover the  two  who  were  peeping  in  at  the 
small  window,  and  trouble  of  a  serious  nature 
ensue. 

While  Teddy  did  not  actually  fear  the 
rascal,  still,  he  believed  it  wise  to  remain 
hidden  from  those  they  meant  to  hoodwink, 
as  long  as  possible,  at  least. 


CRAWLEY  LOST  HIS  HEAD       177 

Indeed,  it  was  still  a  question  in  Teddy's 
mind  whether  or  not  Big  Gabe  had  discovered 
their  presence.  He  was  as  cunning  as  the 
fox  itself,  and  might  have  refrained  from  be- 
traying any  evidence  of  his  discovery,  but 
once  beyond  range  of  the  boy's  vision,  was 
apt  to  start  some  shrewd  flank  movement 
calculated  to  encompass  their  capture. 

Under  these  conditions  Teddy  considered 
it  the  part  of  wisdom  to  crouch  down  in  the 
shadows  and  wait  for  some  little  time,  until 
they  could  be  positive  the  men  had  returned 
to  their  ambush. 

They  could  hear  Amos  and  Sallie  talking, 
as  though  they  had  become  great  friends  in 
the  short  time  they  had  known  each  other; 
though  Teddy  guessed  that  the  magic  fiddle 
had  drawn  them  both  together,  more  than 
anything  else. 

He  had  swept  his  eyes  around  the  interior 
of  the  cabin  when  first  peering  in  through 
the  little  window,  and  beyond  a  few  rusty 
traps,  some  furs  used  for  sleeping  purposes,  a 
few  moth-eaten  blankets  and  several  cooking 
utensils,  it  did  not  seem  to  contain  much  else, 
yet  things  were  as  clean  as  Sallie  could  make 
them,  and  even  a  broom  fashioned  from  twigs 
showed  that  the  child  swept  the  old  floor 
regularly. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

THE   HOLE   IN  THE   FLOOR 

When  Teddy  had  waited  a  certain  length 
of  time,  he  whispered  some  words  to  his 
companion,  and  immediately  departed. 

Undoubtedly  his  intention  was  to  scout 
around  a  bit,  in  order  to  make  sure  that  the 
coast  was  clear  before  they  proceeded  to 
attempt  getting  Amos  to  leave  the  cabin. 

Undoubtedly  the  two  men  had  secured  the 
door  on  the  outside  when  they  departed, 
so  that  the  boy  could  not  leave  the  place.  The 
window  was  merely  a  slit  in  the  log  walls,  and 
too  small  to  admit  the  passage  of  one  the 
size  of  Amos,  so  that  it  would  seem  as  though 
they  felt  reasonably  secure  about  leaving  him. 

Dolph  waited  patiently. 

The  minutes  glided  past,  and  all  he  could 
hear  was  the  murmur  of  voices  just  beyond 
the  slit  in  the  wall;  which,  being  continuous, 
seemed  as  though  Amos  and  the  girl  might  be 
having  a  heart  to  heart  conversation  discus- 
sing their  various  troubles. 

Finally  Dolph  could  not  stand  it  any  longer. 


THE  HOLE  IN  THE  FLOOR      179 

With  Amos  so  close  by,  it  seemed  to  him 
the  height  of  foolishness  to  delay  longer,  when 
the  two  plotters  might  give  up  their  watching 
and  waiting  in  disgust  at  any  minute,  and 
return  to  the  cabin. 

So  Dolph  once  more  raised  his  head  until 
he  could  just  manage  to  peep  over  the  lower 
edge  of  the  narrow  opening,  and  look  into  the 
room. 

It  was  a  candle  that  was  burning,  a  home- 
made affair,  possibly  fashioned  out  of  bear's 
fat  or  tallow  by  the  trapper;  and  of  course, 
the  fire  having  died  down  meanwhile,  it  did 
not  illuminate  the  whole  floor  of  the  cabin 
any  too  well. 

Nevertheless  Dolph  was  able  to  see  into 
every  corner,  and  could  have  easily  told  had 
there  been  others  present  besides  the  two 
who  still  sat  there  on  the  floor,  Amos  idly 
allowing  his  fingers  to  run  over  the  strings  of 
the  old  fiddle. 

The  boy  was  talking  earnestly.  From  the 
manner  in  which  he  gazed  into  the  face  of 
Sallie,  it  was  evident  he  was  endeavoring  to 
convince  her  that  it  was  her  duty  to  give  up 
this  nomadic  life,  traveling  here  and  there 
with  her  good  for  nothing  father,  and  let  the 
boys  take  her  to  her  grandmother's  house  at 


180     CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

the  Sault  Ste.  Marie,  known  far  and  wide 
simply  as  the  "Soo." 

She  seemed  to  listen  eagerly  to  what  he 
said,  and  upon  her  thin  little  face  there  crept 
a  very  wistful  look.  But  whenever  he  stopped 
talking  she  would  shake  her  head  sorrowfully, 
though  with  a  determination  that  would  have 
well  become  a  little  heroine. 

Dolph  caught  some  of  the  words  she  spoke. 
He  could  draw  his  own  conclusion  from  them, 
to  the  effect  that  Sallie  had  given  her  word 
to  her  dying  mother  to  stand  by  her  father, 
no  matter  what  befell  until  he  either  reformed 
his  ways  or  met  the  fate  that  continually 
hovers  over  the  heads  of  such  evil  men. 

Somehow  Dolph  was  thrilled  with  admira- 
tion for  the  pluck  of  this  frail  girl,  who  could 
resist  all  temptations,  for  which  her  heart  must 
be  longing,  and  endure  this  wretched  existence, 
simply  because  she  had  promised  the  mother, 
who  was  gone;  and  the  man  she  would  try  to 
shield  and  save  was  her  "dad"  though  most 
unworthy  to  bear  that  name. 

To  others  Crawley  might  appear  only  a 
drunken  scoundrel,  whose  word  was  not 
worth  considering  as  an  asset;  but  perhaps 
Sallie  could  look  back  with  gratitude  to  a  few 
isolated  instances  when  he  had  been  "good 
to  her." 


THE  HOLE  IN  THE  FLOOR       181 

Dolph  watched  the  two  for  a  few  minutes, 
and  then,  thinking  that  it  might  be  only  right 
to  let  Amos  know  his  chums  were  around,  was 
just  in  the  act  of  making  some  sort  of  signal 
the  other  would  surely  recognize,  when  some- 
thing occurred  that  caused  him  to  change 
his  mind. 

The  girl  seemed  to  be  pointing  to  the  floor 
over  in  a  corner.  There  was  an  expression  of 
alarm  upon  her  face.  Amos  was  bending 
forward  too,  as  if  he  too  had  caught  the  same 
thing  that  had  attracted  Sallie's  attention 
so  suddenly.  Indeed,  he  looked  astonished 
beyond  measure,  and  from  his  attitude  one 
might  believe  Amos  was  not  far  from  the 
border  of  actual  fright. 

Naturally  Dolph  was  keenly  interested. 

Whatever  it  could  be  that  was  having  this 
strange  effect  upon  these  two,  he  felt  that  he 
ought  to  share  in  the  knowledge,  and  accord- 
ingly Dolph  immediately  turned  his  eyes  in 
the  same  direction. 

Dolph  was  conscious  of  a  peculiar  prickly 
sensation  all  over  his  scalp,  as  though  his  hair 
might  be  feeling  an  inclination  to  stand  on 
end.  When  he  came  to  reflect  upon  the  cir- 
cumstance later,  he  did  not  wonder  at  having 
experienced  this  feeling,  since  the  cabin  bore 


182     CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

such  a  bad  name,  and  was  said  to  be  haunted 
by  uneasy  ghosts. 

A  section  of  the  floor  itself  was  slowly  ris- 
ing upward,  as  if  propelled  by  invisible 
hands.  From  its  shape  Dolph  could  readily 
guess  that  it  was  really  some  sort  of  trap  that 
had  at  some  time  or  other  been  cut  in  the 
heavy  boards. 

If  there  were  such  things  as  ghosts,  surely 
this  must  be  some  of  their  work;  but  while 
Dolph  was  amazed  beyond  measure,  and 
awaited  the  outcome  with  eagerness,  he  was 
not  yet  ready  to  commit  himself  upon  this 
score,  until  he  had  seen  the  spirit  with  his  own 
eyes. 

Higher  rose  the  square,  while  little  Sallie 
held  her  breath,  and  shrank  closer  to  Amos, 
who,  unconsciously  perhaps,  put  out  an  arm 
as  though  to  protect  her. 

Then  the  section  of  flooring  having  attained 
a  perpendicular  position  began  to  lower;  the 
trap  was  being  dropped  back  towards  the 
boards. 

Dolph  gave  a  chuckle  of  delight  when  he 
saw  the  smiling  face  of  Teddy  exposed. 

The  lumberman's  son  may  have  known  of 
the  trap  before,  since  he  had  visited  this  same 
cabin;     or  else  he  had  prowled  around  just 


THE  HOLE  IN  THE  FLOOR       183 

now  to  advantage,  discovering  how  to  crawl 
under  the  old  shack,  and  reach  this  opening. 

He  was  holding  up  his  finger  at  the  sur- 
prised pair,  as  if  to  warn  them  that  silence 
was  the  best  policy  just  then. 

Dolph  fully  expected  to  see  his  chum  climb 
out  of  the  hole,  and  greet  the  prisoner;  and 
he  was  about  to  chime  in  with  hearty  words 
on  his  own  account,  when  suddenly  the  boy 
bobbed  back  into  the  cavity  under  the  cabin ; 
pulling  the  trap  shut  after  him. 

At  the  same  time  Dolph  himself  heard  the 
rumble  of  voices  in  the  open,  and  understood 
that  for  some  reason  or  other,  the  two  men 
were  returning  to  the  cabin. 

Instantly,  he  realized  that  his  position  at 
the  window  was  a  precarious  one,  for  as  his  head 
would  be  outlined  against  the  light  within, 
they  must  inevitably  be  attracted  by  any 
movement  on  his  part,  if  close  enough  at  the 
time. 

Of  course  though,  Dolph  had  to  drop  flat, 
and  crouching  there  he  gripped  his  gun,  almost 
holding  his  very  breath  with  suspense. 

At  least  they  did  not  come  his  way,  which 
fact  he  considered  pretty  good  evidence  that 
he  had  not  been  seen;  instead,  they  unfastened 
the  door,  and  entered  the  cabin. 


184     CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

Dolph  wondered  very  much  what  had 
brought  them  back  so  soon,  to  disturb  the 
nice  plans  Teddy  must  have  arranged.  He 
listened,  to  discover  whether  he  could  catch 
something  of  what  was  said,  and  which  might 
explain  matters. 

Their  voices  being  heavy,  came  distinctly 
to  his  ears.  Dolph  even  ventured  to  take 
another  sly  look.  This  revealed  the  fact 
that  while  Crawley  was  rudely  binding  up  the 
arm  of  his  companion,  Amos  had  taken  the 
job  out  of  his  hands,  and  was  doing  it  as 
cleverly  as  any  surgeon  might,  considering 
the  poor  material  at  hand. 

From  their  talk  it  seemed  that  Big  Gabe 
had  caught  his  foot  in  a  root  he  failed  to  see 
in  the  darkness.  In  falling  clumsily  he  had 
managed  to  drop  his  hunting  knife,  and  it 
pierced  his  arm,  giving  him  a  painful  wound 
that  bled  freely. 

Sometimes  the  fate  of  a  nation  hinges  on  a 
trifle.  The  listening  lad  at  the  window  won- 
dered what  effect  this  might  have  upon  their 
destinies. 

At  any  rate,  it  seemed  to  put  a  different 
aspect  upon  the  conditions  existing,  for  noth- 
ing could  apparently  be  done  looking  to  the 
release  of  Amos  while  the  men  were  hugging 
close  to  the  cabin. 


THE  HOLE  IN  THE  FLOOR      185 

i 

And  there  was  poor  Teddy,  snuggling  down 
in  that  hole  under  the  floor,  possibly  afraid 
to  even  move  an  inch,  lest  he  draw  attention 
to  himself,  and  bring  about  discovery. 

Dolph  hoped  the  two  men  might  conclude 
to  go  on  guard  again  when  the  operation  of 
binding  up  Hackett's  wounded  arm  had  been 
completed. 

From  words  that  floated  to  his  ears  he 
realized  that  Crawley  declined  to  make  any 
attempt  at  capture  alone;  and  the  big  timber 
cruiser  seemed  to  have  lost  some  his  vim  with 
the  flow  of  blood.  He  could  not  work  with 
one  arm,-  and  altogether  Big  Gabe  now  seemed 
satisfied  to  stay  indoors. 

He  also  made  mention  of  the  fact  that 
perhaps  their  object  could  be  attained  just 
as  well  be  remaining  there,  and  letting  their 
prospective  victims  come  to  them,  a  new  view 
of  the  case  in  which  Crawley  was  willing  to 
concur. 

It  was  certainly  most  aggravating  to  say  the 
least,  and  must  be  doubly  so  to  Teddy,  flat- 
tened out  in  an  uncomfortable  position  under 
the  floor. 

Dolph  was  pitying  his  chum  all  the  while, 
never  dreaming  that  Teddy  might  himself 
be  feeling  very  comfortable,  and  even  planning 
mischief. 


186     CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

If  they  had  to  remain  indoors,  at  least 
Crawley  was  determined  that  he  must  have 
Amos  go  on  with  his  fiddling,  so  he  ordered 
the  boy  to  start  along,  and  tune  up  again. 

Big  Gabe  scowled  at  hearing  this,  but  then 
Amos  had  done  so  well  in  binding  up  his  arm, 
and  stopping  the  flow  of  blood,  that  he  was 
disposed  to  let  it  go  at  that. 

So  once  again  the  sound  of  the  bow  scraping 
across  the  strings  was  heard  in  the  old  haunted 
cabin.  Amos,  given  full  swing,  let  himself 
out  in  earnest,  playing  one  air  after  another 
until  he  had  really  exhausted  his  list  of  tunes; 
when  Crawley  sitting  on  the  bench,  his  rough 
face  wreathed  in  smiles,  ordered  him  to  start 
all  over  again. 

What  would  be  the  end  of  this  strange 
adventure? 

Dolph  wondered  if  Amos  would  be  kept  at 
the  playing  business  until  he  fell  over,  utterly 
exhausted. 

And  what  of  poor  Teddy,  who  must  be 
terribly  cramped  below  the  floor?  What,  if 
unable  to  remain  there  any  longer  he  sud- 
denly threw  up  the  trap,  and  appeared  before 
the  two  men  as  the  original  "ghost"  of  the 
old  cabin? 

Dolph  wondered  what  would  be  the  proper 


THE  HOLE  IN  THE  FLOOR      187 

caper  for  him  under  such  conditions.  He 
could  see  no  other  thing  possible  than  that 
he  should  thrust  his  head  and  gun  through 
the  narrow  window,  and  threaten  the  men 
into  submission. 

Really  this  seemed  good  to  Dolph;  and 
grimly  determined  to  act,  he  drew  back  the 
hammer  of  his  gun,  resolved  to  appear  as 
resolute  as  possible,  in  order  to  strike  con- 
sternation to  the  hearts  01  the  two  rascals, 
and  make  then  throw  up  their  hands. 

But  Dolph  did  not  take  into  the  considera- 
tion the  fact  that  some  one  else  might  have 
plans  to  work  out,  differing  materially  from 
those  he  was  figuring  on. 

This  party  in  fact  was  Teddy,  whom  last 
Dolph  had  seen  hastily  withdrawing  beneath 
the  shelter  of  the  floor. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

THE  CABIN  ABANDONED  TO  THE  GHOSTS 

Amos  had  just  stopped,  in  order  to  draw 
out  his  red  bandana  handkerchief,  and  wipe 
the  drops  from  his  forehead,  because  it  was 
pretty  warm  work,  fiddling  away  for  half  an 
hour  "like  a  house  afire, "  as  he  expressed  it. 

Just  then  a  distinct  and  most  dreadful 
groan  was  heard. 

Crawley  jumped  to  his  feet  with  an  oath; 
and  even  Gabe  raised  his  head  to  listen,  for 
to  ease  the  strain  on  his  arm  he  had  been 
lying  down  on  a  blanket. 

Upon  both  their  faces  astonishment,  in- 
credulity, and  even  a  wild,  ungovernable  fear 
could  be  detected,  as  they  stared  at  each  other, 
and  then  all  around. 

Another  groan,  even  more  terrible  than 
before,  seemed  to  well  up  out  of  space,  nor 
could  the  listening  Dolph  locate  its  source, 
even  though  positive  Teddy  must  be  responsi- 
ble for  the  sounds,  which  were  intended  to 
alarm  the  two  rascals. 

"Boy,  air  thet  you  a-makin;  thet  n'ise?" 


THE  CABIN  ABANDONED         189 

demanded  Crawley,  seizing  hold  of  Amos' 
sleeve;  but  it  did  not  need  the  emphatic 
denial  of  the  lad  to  convince  him,  for  another 
of  the  chilling  sounds  came,  setting  his  cow- 
ardly heart  to  beating  madly. 

"It's  a  trick!"  yelled  Big  Gabe,  turning 
white  in  spite  of  his  words,  "Crawley,  climb 
up  into  the  loft,  an'  see  if  they  ain  ;t  a  critter 
a-hidin'  thar!  Ef  ye  find  him,  throw  the 
measly  skunk  down  fur  me  ter  tromp  on." 

Crawley  evidently  did  not  like  the  job,  for 
he  was  slow  to  follow  out  the  plan  suggested 
by  his  companion;  but  by  dint  of  much 
jeering,  and  a  little  flattery,  he  was  finally 
induced  to  climb  up  the  partly  broken  ladder 
that  led  to  a  sort  of  loft,  extending  half-way 
over  the  room. 

In  the  past  those  who  lived  in  the  pine 
woods  cabin  probably  stored  their  pelts  up 
there  until  the  spring  came,  and  it  was  time 
to  get  them  properly  stretched  and  dried 
as  they  had  been  before  packing  away,  to 
market. 

He  carried  with  him  another  candle  that 
with  shaking  hands  he  had  managed  to  light 
from  the  first  one.  Upon  gaining  a  position 
where  he  could  peer  over  the  edge  of  the 
flooring  of  the  loft,  Crawley  was  heard  to  give 
vent  to  a  sigh  of  relief . 


190     CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

"Ain't  nawthin'  doin'  up  here,  Gabe;  the 
place  is  empty  as  all  git-out,"  he  remarked, 
and  as  if  deeming  his  duty  done  Crawley 
came  down  much  faster  than  he  had  ascended. 

His  arrival  below  seemed  to  be  the  signal 
for  another  outburst  of  groans,  this  time 
more  than  ever  of  a  nature  to  chill  the  blood 
of  any  one  given  to  superstition. 

Crawley  had  a  failing  that  way,  though 
how  he  ever  came  to  take  lodgings  in  this 
said-to-be  haunted  cabin  under  such  cir- 
cumstances would  always  be  a  mystery. 

Big  Gabe  had  himself  never  taken  much 
stock  in  such  things  as  ghosts.  But  then 
that  may  have  been  simply  because  up  to 
now  he  had  never  happened  to  run  across 
anything  bordering  on  the  supernatural. 

He  looked  very  much  shaken,  and  seemed 
disposed  to  lay  the  blame  on  the  shoulders 
of  poor  Amos. 

"See  wot  yer  pesky  scrouchin,  hes  gone 
an*  done,''  he  shouted,  angrily.  "Even  the 
ghostes  hes  ris'  up  an'  howled  agin  sech 
n'ises.  I  knowed  sumthin'd  happen,  as  sure 
as  thunder,  when  ye  let  loose  all  them  cater- 
waulin'  sounds.  Now  we  gotter  vamose 
outer  here  right  speedy,  an*  make  a  camp  in 
the  open.    Crawley,  it's  all  yer  fault,  en- 


THE  CABIN  ABANDONED        191 

couragin'  sech  crazy  doings.  Now!  hear  thet! 
would  ye?  Hole  on  thar  Mister  Ghost,  we're 
a-gom'  peaceable  like,  if  ye  gives  us  harf  a 
chanct, "  as  a  terriffic  shriek  rang  through 
the  cabin  accompanied  by  a  pounding  that 
seemed  to  make  the  floor  tremble. 

Dolph  could  not  keep  out  of  the  game;  the 
temptation  to  join  in  was  too  much  for  him. 
And  so  he  began  to  kick  upon  the  wall  wher- 
ever a  board  had  been  used  to  cover  up  some 
broad  chink,  where  the  dried  mud  between  the 
logs  had  fallen  away. 

Taken  in  all,  it  was  quite  a  tremendous 
racket'  and  even  Amos  began  to  look  uneasy, 
as  though  he  found  himself  entertaining  a 
suspicion  that  after  all  there  might  be  some 
grain  of  truth  connected  with  that  story  of  the 
spirits  of  the  trappers  who  had  met  a  tragic 
fate,  returning  to  fight  their  battles  over; 
while  Sallie's  face  was  the  picture  of  dismay. 

Crawley  was  already  making  for  the  door; 
with  the  evident  intention  of  fleeing  from  the 
wrath  to  come  5  nor  did  he  stop  give  his  de- 
voted child  one  thought  in  this  time  of  alarm. 
Big  Gabe  did  not  mean  to  be  left  in  the  lurch 
either,  evidently.  He  had  an  excuse  that 
with  only  one  good  arm  he  was  hardly  in 
condition  to  wrestle  with  anything  or  anyone, 
either  human  or  of  a  ghostly  order. 


192     CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

The  retreat  became  a  scramble,  with  the 
whole  four  at  the  door  at  the  same  time,  trying 
to  escape  from  the  haunted  interior.  The 
groans  had  ceased  but  that  might  only  be  a 
ruse  to  deceive  them. 

Amos  clutched  the  precious  fiddle,  and  the 
girl  only  stopped  once,  to  possess  herself  of 
some  article  of  apparel,  for  which  she  possibly 
entertained  fondness  on  account  of  certain 
memories  associated  between  it  and  her  dead 
mother. 

So  they  streamed  out  of  the  cabin  in  a 
bunch. 

Dolph  knew  enough  to  hide,  and  keep  very 
still.  Teddy's  little  game  had  worked  very 
well,  only  it  chanced  that  in  fleeing  from  the 
haunted  cabin,  the  two  game  poachers  had 
gone  and  carried  Amos  with  them. 

So  far  as  the  rescue  of  their  camp  mate  went, 
Teddy  and  Dolph  were  no  nearer  the  goal  of 
their  ambition  than  before. 

True,  the  cabin  had  been  abandoned,  tempo- 
rarily at  least,  to  the  spirits,  but  it  was  an 
empty  victory  after  all,  since  the  work  must 
be  done  over  again. 

There  was  always  a  chance  that  in  the  open 
Amos  might  slip  away.  But  even  at  that 
Teddy  would  refuse  to  be  pacified-    because 


THE  CABIN  ABANDONED         193 

the  rascals  held  possession  of  his  highly  prized 
Marlin  gun,  and  he  did  not  mean  to  abandon 
that  indispensable  weapon  without  a  fight 
for  it. 

Dolph  knew  that  Teddy  would  join  him  as 
soon  as  he  could  crawl  out  from  the  confined 
space  under  the  floor.  Accordingly,  he  con- 
tented himself  with  trying  to  note  the  direction 
taken  by  the  fugitives. 

There  did  not  seem  to  be  much  trouble 
about  doing  this,  for  they  certainly  made  a 
tremendous  racket;  indeed  he  was  partly  con- 
vinced that  Amos  played  the  part  of  martyr, 
clumsily  falling  over  about  every  log  he  could 
find  on  the  way,  with  sundry  cries  of  pain  or 
disgust,  calculated  to  reach  the  ears  of  his 
chums. 

Sure  enough,  in  a  couple  of  minutes  Teddy 
came  out  of  the  cabin,  breathing  hard. 

"They've  gone,  of  course,"  he  observed, 
between  his  pants  for  breath.  "Scared  'em 
off,  did  I?  Too  bad  they  took  Amos  along, 
ain't  it?  But  we're  bound  to  get  after  the 
thievy  cowards,  hot-footed.  It'll  sure  be 
queer  if  we  can't  make  'em  give  our  chum 
up.    Notice  which  way  they  went,  Dolph?" 

"Yes,"  said  Dolph,  "Amos  took  pains  to 
make  all  the  noise  he  could.    Listen.    I  think 


194    CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

you  can  hear  him  floundering  around  yet. 
Come,  let's  be  on  the  jump.  The  way  things 
are  going,  we  must  win  out  soon.  But  I  was 
sorry  to  see  how  you  scared  that  girl.  Think 
of  that  beast  Crawley  being  her  father,  poor 
child. " 

"Yes,  I  know  Sallie,"  the  other  replied,  in 
a  low  voice,  as  they  started  away.  "She's  a 
wise  little  thing,  older  than  her  years  because 
she's  had  the  troubles  of  a  grown-up.  I 
reckon  they  won 't  go  far  away,  but  halt,  and 
build  a  big  camp  fire  to  scare  ghosts  off!" 

"Well,"  remarked  Dolph,  "I  must  say 
these  two  rascals  are  giving  us  a  run  for  our 
money,  all  right.  Once  we  get  Amos  and  the 
gun,  and  we  want  nothing  more  from  them. 
But  I'd  like  to  take  that  child  cut  of  this 
horrible  life.  Say,  do  you  really  know 
whether  she's  got  any  uncles  or  aunts  or 
cousins?  " 

"A  grandmother  at  the  Soo,  I  was  told,  but 
you'd  waste  your  time  trying  to  induce  her 
to  leave  that  Crawley.  I  tried  it  once,  but 
she  told  me  she  just  had  to  stick  to  him — that 
the  last  chance  he'd  ever  have  lay  in  her,  and 
she'd  promised  her  mother  never  to  give  him 
up.    I  'm  afraid  from  her  delicate  looks,  she  '11 


THE  CABIN  ABANDONED        195 

die  from  exposure  one  of  these  days,  following 
him  around.  He  thinks  she  can  stand  what- 
ever he  can,  the  big  brute.  I  'd  like  to  help 
him  to  a  coat  of  tar  and  feathers,  or  give  him 
a  cow-hiding,  that's  what,"  and  Teddy's 
indignation  actually  made  his  voice  tremble. 

While  they  moved  along,  as  silently  as 
possible,  occasionally  they  would  hear  one  of 
the  men  call  out  to  the  other;  for  their  gruff 
voices  carried  far  on  the  still  night  air. 

Perhaps  Amos  might  himself  have  slipped 
away  during  this  rapid  retreat.  The  chances 
were,  however,  that  his  stubborn  nature  would 
not  allow  him  to  think  of  escape  unless  he 
could  also  carry  off  the  gun  that  had  been 
entrusted  to  his  charge. 

Big  Gabe  was  holding  greedily  to  the  weap- 
on i  if  he  could  not  get  anything  else  out  of 
the  game,  at  least  he  was  sure  of  this;  and 
ever  since  his  eyes  had  first  fallen  upon  that 
gun,  in  Teddy's  hands,  his  fingers  had  fairly 
itched  for  it. 

At  one  time  the  adventure  had  threatened 
to  develop  into  a  tragedy,  but  somehow,  with 
the  advent  of  that  old  fiddle  on  the  stage,  it 
had  changed  to  a  comedy,  bordering  almost 
on  a  farce. 


196    CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

The  two  pursuers  presently  decided  that 
those  they  were  following  must  have  come  to 
a  halt,  for  the  sound  of  voices  grew  more 
perceptible  and  then  a  light  sprang  up  just 
ahead. 

This,  of  course,  came  from  a  fire  that  had 
been  hastily  kindled  for  several  reasons,  chief 
of  which  might  be  set  down  the  sudden  dis- 
like both  men  just  now  entertained  with  re- 
gard to  being  left  in  the  dark. 

Doubtless  all  thoughts  of  their  plan  against 
the  liberty  of  the  Cincinnati  millionaire- 
manufacturer's  son  and  heir  was  now  aban- 
doned, temporarily,  at  least.  Crawley  was 
drinking  from  time  to  time,  to  imbibe  arti- 
ficial courage;  Big  Gabe  uttering  ugly  words, 
because  in  his  mad  rush  to  escape  he  had 
struck  his  wounded  arm  against  the  door 
frame,  with  much  consequent  pain. 

Teddy  now  led  his  companion  closer  to  the 
camp,  where  the  two  men  had  started  a  fire. 
He  warned  Dolph  to  be  very  careful,  since 
Big  Gabe  was  in  a  surly  temper,  and  would 
possibly  shoot  "at  the  drop  of  the  hat," 
leaving  all  inquiries  until  afterwards. 

It  was  found  that  the  fire  burned  on  the 
bank  of  a  small  creek  that  ran  into  the  lake, 
presumably. 


THE  CABIN  ABANDONED         197 

This  creek  flowed  through  a  sunken  bed> 
some  six  feet  or  so  below  the  surrounding 
surface  j  and  to  Teddy's  experienced  eye,  the 
depression  presented  the  best  possible  oppor- 
tunity for  approaching  unseen  the  spot  where 
the  camp  fire  burned. 

By  stooping  low,  and  creeping  along  under 
the  bank,  they  would  be  able  to  actually 
invade  the  boundaries  of  the  space  illumined 
by  the  glow  of  the  fire — Crawley  having 
hastily  gathered  together  a  mass  of  dried 
wood,  and  fired  the  same,  at  the  request  of 
his  wounded  companion  who  refused  to  let 
the  captured  gun  out  of  his  possession  for  a 
single  minute. 


CHAPTER  XIX 
teddy's  woodceaft  helps 

Impulsive  Dolph  was  for  making  the  ven- 
ture without  delay. 

Fortunately  Teddy  had  long  since  learned 
the  value  of  caution  and  how  to  apply  the 
same  in  the  ordinary  affairs  of  life. 

He  saw  that  Big  Gabe,  for  instance,  was  in 
a  particularly  irritable  frame  of  mind,  sus- 
picious and  exacting.  To  cross  his  will  while 
he  held  that  many-shot  Marlin  in  his  hands 
would  mean  serious  trouble  all  around. 

If  they  could  hold  in  until  this  cross-grained 
giant  was  asleep  and  snoring,  their  chances 
for  success  would  be  much  improved. 

That  was  the  burden  of  the  advice  Teddy 
whispered  in  the  ear  of  his  friend;  and  Dolph, 
while  impulsive,  being  also  amenable  to  rea- 
son, agreed  with  him  that  it  was  best.  Ac- 
cordingly, they  lay  down  upon  the  ground  to 
rest;  for  taken  in  all  it  had  been  a  pretty 
strenuous  day  and  night  to  both  of  them,  and 
they  were  beginning  to  realize  that  they  were 
feeling  tired. 


TEDDY'S  WOODCRAFT  HELPS    199 

Dolph,  as  he  lay  there,  ran  over  in  his  mind 
the  succession  of  stirring  events  that  had  been 
passing  before  his  eyes  of  late. 

Doubtless  he  would  never  forget  the  strange 
scene  that  demonstrated  the  power  of  music; 
nor  yet  that  which  followed,  and  had  to  do 
with  the  influence  of  fear  and  ignorant  super- 
stition, acting  on  the  hearts  and  minds  of 
rough  men. 

So  Dolph  lay  there,  and  pondered  in  the 
half-dreamy  way  a  boy  may  do  when  he  is 
very  tired;  until  before  he  realized  it  he  was 
asleep. 

A  hand  shaking  him  aroused  Dolph.  Be- 
fore he  could  utter  a  sound  the  voice  of  his 
chum  whispered  in  his  ear. 

"Sh!  Don't  make  any  noise.  You've 
been  asleep  more  than  an  hour,  and  it's  time 
we  were  moving.     Sit  up,  and  take  notice!" 

Dolph  did  so. 

It  all  came  rushing  back  to  him  in  a  flash, 
and  without  waste  of  time  he  turned  his  eyes 
in  the  direction  of  the  camp  upon  the  creek 
bank. 

The  fire  had  been  allowed  to  burn  low,  but 
was  still  in  evidence.  With  his  first  glance 
Dolph  could  see  several  figures  lying  around, 
which  would  seem  to  indicate  that  Big  Gabe 


200     CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

and  the  rest,  overcome  by  weariness,  even  as 
he,  Dolph,  had  been,  had  thrown  themselves 
on  the  ground,  and,  to  all  appearances  at  least, 
were  sound  asleep. 

It  looked  as  though  the  time  might  be 
favorable  for  the  successful  carrying  out  of 
the  plan  of  the  young  scouts. 

Teddy  had  not  been  asleep  one  single 
minute. 

On  the  contrary,  while  his  friend  lay  there 
reviving  his  flagging  energies,  Teddy  had  re- 
mained constantly  on  guard,  and  figuring  out 
just  how  they  should  presently  proceed,  in 
order  to  effect  the  rescue  of  Amos,  and  the 
recovery  of  that  gun. 

He  first  of  all  whispered  in  Dolph's  ear  the 
ideas  that  had  been  hatched  during  this  period 
of  fruitful  guardianship.  The  other  realized 
that  every  point  seemed  to  have  been  covered 
most  beautifully,  so  that  if  such  a  thing  as 
failure  did  come,  it  must  be  laid  to  some  other 
cause  than  lack  of  preparation. 

Luck  often  enters  such  a  game — just  at 
the  most  critical  moment  one  of  the  men 
might  suddenly  sit  up,  as  campers  sometimes 
will,  disturbed  by  a  bad  dream  or  a  belief 
that  the  fire  needs  looking  after  j  and  thus 
discovery  be  brought  about. 


TEDDY'S  WOODCRAFT  HELPS  201 

All  these  things  had  to  be  taken  into  con- 
sideration; and  while  provision  might  not  be 
made  against  them,  some  way  of  meeting 
the  emergency  could  be  arranged. 

Teddy  left  no  possible  loophole  uncovered, 
in  making  his  arrangements;  and  by  the  time 
he  had  finished  telling  the  other  the  many 
details,  Dolph  realized  just  how  busy  his 
chum's  mind  must  have  been  at  the  time  he 
himself  slept. 

So  Teddy  led  the  way,  crawling  down  into 
the  depression  made  through  erosion,  as  the 
creek  wound  its  way  toward  the  lake. 

Between  the  bank  and  the  water,  as  a  rule, 
there  was  plenty  of  surface  to  allow  of  a  safe 
passage,  though  occasionally  the  boys  might 
find  it  necessary  to  wet  their  feet;  but  such 
a  trifle  as  this  did  not  worry  either  of  them; 
they  were  too  much  in  earnest. 

Again  was  Dolph  forced  to  admire  the 
clever  tactics  of  his  guide  and  mentor,  as  he 
moved  noiselessly  along,  passing  over  yard 
after  yard  of  territory  without  giving  the 
slightest  indication  of  his  presence.  Surely 
one  could  learn  much  by  contact  with  so  smart 
a  woodsman,  and  that  was  really  one  of  the 
Cincinnati  boy's  best  qualities — his  willingness 
to  be  shown. 


202     CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

Occasionally  Teddy  would  stop  and  hold 
out  his  hand  to  restrain  the  one  who  was  tag- 
ging along  at  his  heels.  Dolph  was  reminded 
of  the  familiar  gesture  used  by  city  drivers 
and  chauffeurs,  when  about  to  turn  aside. 

At  such  times  Teddy  would  raise  himself 
up,  and  peeping  over  the  edge  of  the  creek 
bank,  take  a  cautious  observation,  that  cov- 
ered the  adjacent  camp  and  territory. 

Apparently  on  each  of  these  several  oc- 
casions he  found  things  satisfactory,  since 
their  forward  progress  would  be  immediately 
resumed  after  every  halt.  It  seemed  to 
Dolph  that  presently  they  would  have  reached 
a  stage  in  the  game  where  perhaps  a  different 
system  of  tactics  must  be  employed. 

Between  the  fire  itself  and  the  edge  of  the 
bank  of  the  creek  extended  a  space  about 
thirty  feet  in  width.  While  creeping  across 
this,  Teddy,  on  his  way  to  cut  Amos  free —  for 
before  now  the  boys  had  learned  that  their 
chum  was  tied  hand  and  foot — would  have  the 
sparse  shelter  of  only  a  few  small  scattered 
bushes. 

Teddy  did  not  mean  that  his  chum  should 
make  this  last  gap  of  the  venture;  but  it 
had  been  arranged  that  Dolph  crouch  just 
under  the  rim  of  the  bank,  his  eyes  fastened 


TEDDY'S  WOODCRAFT  HELPS   203 

upon  the  two  men;  and  in  case  one  of  them 
aroused  at  a  critical  time,  it  was  to  be  his 
duty  to  pop  up  like  a  "jack  in  the  box," 
cover  them  with  his  gun,  and  threaten  to 
shoot  unless  they  remained  submissive. 

Dolph  had  really  keyed  himself  up  to  the 
point  where  he  was  ready  to  proceed  to  ex- 
treme measures,  if  pushed;  he  entertained  a 
pretty  poor  opinion  of  both  these  scheming 
rascals,  and  believed  they  would  be  getting 
only  their  just  desserts  if  necessity  compelled 
him  to  " pepper' '  them  with  the  contents  of 
his  scatter  gun,  at  thirty  yards  distance. 

But  then,  that  was  going  pretty  far  ahead, 
and  Dolph  was  ardently  hoping  for  a  bloodless 
victory,  writh  both  Amos  rescued,  and  the 
Marlin  gun  recovered. 

"When  Teddy  had  taken  one  of  his  observa- 
tions for  the  third  time,  he  seemed  ready  to 
call  a  halt.  It  was  evident  that  they  must 
have  arrived  at  the  point  nearest  the  camp 
fire  of  the  fugitives — that  seemed  rather  a 
queer  name  to  apply  to  these  hardy  rovers  of 
the  pine  woods;  but  since  they  had  really 
fled  in  alarm  from  the  "supposed- to-be 
haunted"  cabin,  it  might  be  very  appropriate 
after  all. 

Without  saying  a  word,  and  only  through 


204     CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

touch,  Teddy  indicated  just  where  the  other 
was  to  stand.  At  this  point  a  convenient 
little  "dip"  allowed  of  a  sweeping  survey  of 
the  camp,  and  Dolph  would  be  in  prime  con- 
dition to  carry  out  that  threatening  part  of 
the  game,  if  it  became  essential,  which  he 
sincerely  hoped  might  not  be  the  case. 

He  could  thrust  his  gun  over  the  top  of  the 
creek  bank,  and  cover  the  sleepers;  at  the 
same  time  have  his  foot  upon  a  friendly  knob 
of  stone  that  projected  from  the  soil,  allowing 
a  sudden  upheaval,  should  he  feel  it  necessary 
to  show  himself. 

All  these  arrangements  were  speedily  settled ; 
indeed,  they  did  not  take  more  than  a  min- 
ute or  so  of  time. 

Then  Teddy  was  ready  to  pull  himself  up 
over  the  edge,  get  down  flat  on  the  ground 
and  wriggle  along  one  way  or  another,  like  a 
creeping  cat  perhaps,  in  the  direction  of  the 
spot  where  they  could  plainly  see  the  stocky 
form  of  their  chum,  Amos,  stretched  out. 

Dolph,  having  settled  himself  in  his  ap- 
pointed position,  made  ready  to  watch  the 
advance  of  his  friend. 

He  could  feel  his  heart  beating  almost  with 
the  rapidity  of  a  trip  hammer;  and  even 
feared  that  its  wild  pulsation  might  awaken 


TEDDY'S  WOODCRAFT  HELPS  205 

the  sleepers;  but  on  second  thought  Dolph 
realized  the  absurdity  of  such  an  event,  and 
from  that  time  on  became  much  more  calm. 
His  hands  indeed,  were  perfectly  steady,  as 
they  pushed  the  gun  up,  and  rested  it  on  the 
soil,  in  the  desired  position  for  immediate  use. 

Teddy  was  tightening  his  belt,  and  making 
sure  that  everything  about  him  was  in  apple 
pie  condition  for  the  little  venture.  After 
he  had  once  salied  forth,  there  would  be  no 
time  to  give  any  thought  to  these  matters. 

Then  he  squeezed  Dolph's  hand  once  more, 
perhaps  forgetting  that  he  had  already  per- 
formed this  operation  two  other  times  al- 
ready. But  then  it  was  a  time  of  such  tre- 
mendous importance,  that  after  all  Teddy 
could  be  excused.  Perhaps  he  was  excited 
but  if  so,  he  managed  to  hide  the  fact  pretty 
well.  Why,  Dolph  thought  the  other  as  cool 
as  any  icicle  that  ever  hung  down  from  the 
woodshed  gutter  after  a  thaw  in  February. 
Doubtless  he  compared  Teddy's  manner  with 
his  own  when  deciding  this  fact.  And  that 
tumultuous  heart  made  him  only  too  conscious 
of  his  own  shortcomings. 

Then  Teddy  climbed  silently  out  of  the 
sunken  creek  channel,  and  started,  low  down 
on  his  chest,  in  the  direction  of  the  fire. 


206    CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

He  had  not  made  more  than  two  hunches 
than  Dolph  noticed  something.  Why,  Teddy 
had  abruptly  stopped.  More  than  that,  he 
was  flattening  himself  out  upon  the  ground 
as  if  the  one  object  of  his  life  just  at  that  par- 
ticular moment  was  to  make  himself  seem 
as  small  as  possible. 

Now  Dolph  knew  what  this  must  signify. 
He  hastily  turned  his  troubled  gaze  in  the 
direction  of  the  smouldering  camp  fire  and 
the  sleepers,  for  only  in  that  quarter  could 
there  possibly  be  any  chance  of  interruption. 

Had  one  of  the  men  chosen  to  get  up  and 
stretch  himself  at  this  most  inopportune 
moment?  If  so,  then  Teddy's  mission  must 
of  necessity  be  postponed. 

What  Dolph  saw  almost  took  his  breath 
away,  it  was  so  entirely  different  from  any- 
thing he  had  expected;  and  immediately  his 
feeling  of  alarm  and  dismay  gave  way  to  one 
bordering  on  expectancy. 

Someone  was  slowly  and  cautiously  getting 
up  near  the  half-dead  fire  5  but  it  was  neither 
of  the  rough  men.  On  the  contrary,  he 
could  see  the  slight  figure  of  the  girl,  Sallie; 
and  from  the  manner  in  which  she  peered  at 
the  recumbent  figures  of  her  father  and  Big 
Gabe,  it  was  evident  that  she  did  not  wish 
either  of  them  to  know  of  her  action. 


TEDDY'S  WOODCRAFT  HELPS  207 

There  was  evidently  about  to  be  put  upon 
the  boards,  a  feature  of  the  game  that  neither 
of  the  boys  had  counted  upon  entering.  No 
wonder  then  Dolph  held  his  breath,  while 
Teddy  raised  his  head  much  as  a  tortoise 
might  protrude  his  from  its  shell,  as  their 
eyes  remained  glued  upon  the  camp  of  the 
game  poachers. 


CHAPTER  KX3 

WHAT   SALLIE   DID 

Sallie  seemed  a  long  time  in  getting  up  on 
her  knees.  All  the  while,  too,  she  was  keep- 
ing that  watch  upon  the  two  men,  as  though 
the  poor  little  heart  might  be  throbbing  like 
mad  for  fear  lest  one  of  them  suddenly  raise 
his  head,  and  demand  to  know  in  gruff  tones, 
why  she  was  leaving  her  blanket  at  that  hour. 

There  could  be  only  one  explanation  of  her 
suspicious  actions,  Dolph  concluded;  this 
was,  that  she  had  deliberately  resolved  to 
brave  the  wrath  of  Big  Gabe  as  well  as  her 
own  ruffianly  father,  and  help  Amos  escape. 

Dolph  fairly  held  his  breath  with  suspense 
when  he  grasped  all  that  she  seemed  bent 
upon  accomplishing.  At  the  same  time  he 
was  saying  to  himself  in  a  whisper  over  and 
over  again: 

"Good  for  you,  Sallie!  Bulliest  little  girl 
I  ever  saw 5    don't  this  beat  all,  though!" 

Sallie  was  now  creeping  away  from  her  blan- 
ket. She  certainly  headed  straight  for  the 
spot  where  Amos  was  lying. 


WHAT  SALLIE  DID  209 

Turning  his  eyes  in  that  direction  Dolph 
saw  the  prisoner  raise  his  head.  He  seemed 
to  be  intently  watching  the  silent  advance  of 
the  girl,  as  though,  bound  as  he  was,  Amos 
understood  what  Sallie  meant  to  do. 

Something  glittered  in  the  hand  of  the 
child,  as  a  tongue  of  flame  licked  up  a  small 
bit  of  fuel  that  had  dropped  into  the  fire  when 
a  log  partly  turned  over.  Dolph  quickly 
guessed  that  it  must  be  a  knife,  though  just 
where  Sallie  could  have  obtained  the  same  he 
could  not  imagine. 

Here  was  a  situation,  dramatic  enough  to 
please  the  most  critical. 

No  wonder,  then,  that  the  two  boys  hardly 
dared  to  breathe  properly  as  they  watched 
the  slow  advance  of  the  child  of  the  lawless 
former  mink  trapper,  and  now  game  poacher. 
No  wonder  Dolph,  yes,  and  Teddy  too, 
blessed  her  mentally  over  and  over,  as  she 
thus  took  her  courage  in  both  hands  and 
dared  the  wrath  of  the  two  rough  men.  She 
evidently  fully  determined  to  assist  the  lad 
who  had  found  the  way  to  her  poor  little 
heart  through  the  fairy  touch  of  his  bow  on 
the  strings  of  the  old  fiddle. 

Perhaps  she  fancied  that  one  of  the  sleepers 
moved,  for  suddenly  Sallie  sank  down  flat 


210     CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

upon  the  ground  as  though  stricken  with 
death,  and  lay  there  while  several  full  min- 
utes passed. 

Amos  bobbed  his  head  up  again  and  again, 
as  though  he  could  not  understand  just  why 
the  little  girl  had  halted  in  her  rescue  work. 
He  seemed  to  have  been  expecting  her  coming, 
from  which  Dolph  guessed  that  Amos  must 
have  earlier  in  the  night  received  some  hint 
as  to  what  he  might  expect. 

The  alarm,  however,  proved  to  be  without 
foundation,  it  seemed;  for  presently  Sallie 
was  once  more  on  the  move,  approaching  now 
the  sprawling  form  of  Big  Gabe,  who  chanced 
to  have  cast  himself  down  near  the  prisoner, 
though  perhaps  after  all  it  had  been  design 
on  his  part  that  caused  the  timber  cruiser  to 
do  this. 

These  sort  of  wood  voyagers  are  accustomed 
to  waking  by  instinct  when  the  fire  burns  low, 
and  a  chill  pervades  the  air  of  the  camp;  the 
soft  footfall  of  a  cat  might  arouse  them. 

And  Sallie  knew  it. 

Dolph  rememberd  what  his  instructions 
had  been.  He  was  to  make  use  of  his  gun 
as  a  gentle  persuader  in  case  of  trouble  while 
Teddy  was  creeping  forward.  Now  that  the 
task  of  setting  Amos  free  had  been  trans- 


WHAT  SALL1E  DID  211 

ferred  to  the  shoulders  of  another  there  was 
just  as  much  reason  for  vigilance. 

Accordingly,  Dolph  brought  his  gun  to  bear 
upon  the  burly  figure  of  Big  Gabe.  If  that 
worthy  had  reared  up  at  that  particular 
moment,  the  chances  were  the  timber  cruiser 
would  have  found  himself  precipitated  into  a 
peck  of  trouble. 

But  now  Sallie  had  managed  to  creep  past 
the  man  who  snored,  as  he  lay  flat  on  his 
broad  back.  She  was  very  close  to  Amos, 
who  appeared  to  be  more  or  less  nervous. 
Dolph  could  guess  why.  He  understood  that 
it  galled  the  woods  boy  to  be  compelled  to  lie 
there,  incapable  of  helping  himself,  and  just 
wait  to  be  set  free  by  a  small,  weak  girl. 

Amos  was  proud  and  would  feel  the  humilia- 
tion of  this  for  any  a  day.  But  of  course 
he  was  too  sensible  a  boy  to  refuse  to  profit 
by  the  opportunity. 

When  the  girl  bent  down  beside  the  prisoner 
Dolph  gave  vent  to  a  sigh  of  genuine  relief;  for 
he  had  watched  her  slow  and  laborious  progress 
over  the  intervening  ground  with  his  heart  al- 
most in  his  throat,  as  they  say,  with  suspense. 

She  now  seemed  to  be  sleeping  alongside 
Amos,  but  Dolph  knew  full  well  that  her  knife 
must  be  diligently  at  work,  sawing  at  the 
boy's  cruel  bonds. 


212     CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

Two,  three  minutes  passed,  and  Dolph  was 
beginning  to  grow  impatient  for  a  movement 
to  be  made,  when  he  saw  Amos  raise  his  head 
again,  as  if  for  an  observation. 

This  probably  meant  that  he  was  free,  so 
far  as  bonds  went. 

Would  he  hasten  to  slip  quietly  out  of  camp 
and  leave  the  two  rascals  in  possession  of  the 
coveted  Marlin  repeater. 

Dolph  thought  not. 

He  knew  something  of  the  stubborn  dispo- 
sition of  his  camp  mate,  and  would  have  been 
willing  to  risk  considerable  on  his  ability  to 
guess  the  next  move  of  Amos. 

As  soon  as  the  woods  boy  rolled  gently  over, 
it  could  be  seen  that  he  was  moving  toward 
Big  Gabe  and  not  in  the  direction  where 
freedom  lay. 

A  couple  of  turns  proved  quite  enough  to 
carry  Amos  close  up  to  where  the  husky 
timber  cruiser  lay. 

Big  Gabe  had  an  abiding  faith  in  his  ability 
to  awaken  should  anything  amiss  come  about 
in  camp.  At  the  same  time  he  possessed  a  still 
greater  confidence  in  the  value  of  the  up-to- 
date  repeating  gun  that  had  so  fortunately 
fallen  into  his  possession  just  when  he  wanted 
such  a  weapon  very  much. 

When  he  lay  down  to  sleep,  therefore,  he 


WHAT  SALL1E  DID  213 

had  clutched  the  precious  Marlin  as  though 
he  meant  to  make  it  his  bed  fellow. 

While  he  slept,  however,  in  tossing  about 
uneasily,  as  men  are  apt  to  do  when  suffering 
from  a  wound,  for  Big  Gabe's  conscience 
never  troubled  him  the  least  bit,  he  had  lost 
something  of  his  grip  on  the  gun.  It  was  now 
lying  close  to  his  person,  but  was  not  in  his 
grasp. 

It  was  possible  a  by  a  deft  movement,  to 
lift  the  weapon  without  disturbing  the  sleeper; 
and  this  was  just  what  Amos  meant  to  do. 

When  Dolph  saw  Amos  thrust  out  an  eager 
hand  toward  the  gun,  he  though  he  should 
almost  smother,  and  there  was  a  ringing  in  his 
ears,  as  though  all  the  blood  in  his  body  rushed 
to  his  head. 

And  when  the  weapon  was  actually  lifted, 
and  clutched  in  the  hands  of  the  backwoods 
boy,  Dolph  felt  ready  to  almost  swing  his 
hat  and  shout  for  joy. 

Now  things  were  beginning  to  look  some- 
what more  rosy. 

Big  Gabe  was  shorn  of  his  power;  for  even 
should  he  awaken  at  this  juncture,  it  would 
be  to  hear  a  steady  voice  demand  that  he 
hold  his  hands  up,  and  find  himself  staring 
into  the  black  and  threatening  tube  of  that 


214     CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

reliable  repeater,  with  the  determined  face  of 
Amos  pressed  against  the  stock. 

Where  would  his  forlorn  old-fashioned 
Winchester  be  then,  with  a  relay  of  six  shells 
to  back  the  boy  in  his  demand? 

In  that  moment  Dolph  felt  that  the  game 
was  as  good  as  won. 

They  might  still  have  few  minor  difficulties 
to  overcome,  especially  if  the  two  men  hap- 
pened to  awaken  before  Amos  quitted  the 
camp.  But  on  the  whole  it  looked  as  though 
a  positive  end  had  been  put  to  Big  Gabe's 
wonderful  scheme  to  capture  the  millionaire's 
son,  and  hold  him  for  ransom. 

Amos  was  again  rolling  over,  only  this 
this  time  he  went  in  the  opposite  direction, 
and  away  from  the  sleeping  men.  Having 
secured  the  coveted  gun,  it  seemed  that 
Amos  felt  no  further  desire  to  seek  the  society 
of  the  fellow  who  had  held  possession  of  it. 

When  he  reached  the  spot  where  the  girl 
crouched,  Amos  paused.  She  had  watched  his 
every  move  with  deepest  satisfaction,  to 
judge  from  her  attitude  as  she  knelt  there. 

Amos  when  he  halted,  seemed  to  be  saying 
something  to  Sallie. 

It  was  easy  enough  for  Dolph  to  guess  the  na- 
ture of  this  whispered  communication,  for  the 
same  idea  had  been  in  the  mind  of  the  watcher. 


WHAT  SALLIE  DID  215 

He  was  again  endeavoring  to  influence  the 
child  to  desert  her  evil  father,  and  go  with 
himself  and  chums.  No  doubt  Amos  had 
talked  it  all  over  with  Sallie  before,  and  she 
knew  full  well  that  these  kind-hearted  boys 
would  see  that  she  arrived  safely  at  her 
maternal  grandmother's  home  in  the  Soo, 
if  she  but  consented. 

But  from  the  emphatic  way  in  which  she 
shook  her  head  it  was  evident  that  Sallie  had 
not  changed  her  mind  a  particle,  and  could 
not  be  convinced  that  her  reprobate  old 
''dad"  was  utterly  bej^ond  hope  of  being 
reclaimed. 

Dolph  felt  his  spirits  fall,  for  somehow  he 
had  cherished  a  hope  that  the  child  might 
give  way  to  the  pleading  of  Amos,  for  whom 
she  seemed  to  have  taken  such  a  fancy,  and 
allow  them  to  better  her  condition. 

It  was  hard  indeed  to  leave  her  there  in  the 
midst  of  such  discomfort,  and  with  only  those 
two  rough  men  for  company,  when  if  she  but 
changed  her  stubborn  little  mind  she  might 
live  in  a  pleasant  home. 

But  she  continued  to  refuse  to  go,  and  of 
course  they  could  not  think  of  trying  to  carry 
her  off  against  her  will. 

All  the  while  she  was  pushing  Amos  from 
her,  and  pointing  toward  the  gully  through 


216     CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

which  the  creek  ran,  as  offering  the  best 
means  of  leaving  the  camp  without  being 
observed;  which  showed  that  even  this  child 
of  Nature  had  in  her  short  life  picked  up  con- 
siderable knowledge  of  woodcraft  from  as- 
sociation with  her  father,  who  at  times  was 
still  engaged  in  trapping  fur-bearing  animals. 

Teddy  thought  it  just  as  well  to  rise  up  on 
his  knees,  so  as  to  let  the  girl  know  Amos  had 
friends  near  by,  who  would  see  him  through. 

She  did  immediatey  catch  sight  of  him,  and 
from  her  gestures  it  was  evident  that  she 
was  calling  the  attention  of  the  woods-boy 
to  the  fact,  for  Amos  suddenly  turned  his 
head,  and  waved  his  hand  toward  them. 

Both  Teddy  and  Dolph  thereupon  beckoned 
wildly  to  him  to  make  haste  because  it  seemed 
the  height  of  foolishness  for  Amos  to  de- 
lay any  longer. 

They  saw  him  bend  down  and  kiss  Sallie — 
kiss  her  just  as  reverently  as  a  mother  might 
her  child  at  parting;  and  the  act  stamped 
Amos  as  a  true-hearted  fellow.  Little  though 
he  had  seen  of  Sallie,  the  poacher's  daughter, 
he  had  in  that  short  time  come  to  be  deeply 
concerned  about  her  gloomy  future,  and  to 
care  for  her  just  as  though  she  were  a  little 
sister  whom  he  should  always  remember. 


CHAPTER  XXI 

THE   UPLIFTED   HAND 

Amos  made  the  transfer  without  a  hitch. 

He  did  not  even  look  back  once.  It  was 
as  though  he  depended  wholly  upon  his  chums 
to  note  any  danger,  and  warn  him  of  the  same 
in  good  time. 

Another  thing  Amos  did,  Dolph  was  quick 
to  notice,  and  which  showed  how  an  observing 
wide-awake  boy  may  pay  attention  to  small 
things. 

In  making  his  advance  toward  the  creek, 
Amos  instead  of  pushing  on  in  a  stright  course 
seemed  to  choose  a  more  roundabout  one. 
Dolph  was  at  first  a  little  puzzled  to  know 
why  he  did  this  when  he  might  have  spared 
himself  some  extra  labor. 

It  dawned  suddenly  upon  him  that  the 
backwoods  boy  knew  what  he  was  about  for 
by  circling  in  this  way  he  was  really  keeping 
himself  out  of  range  so  that  if  it  became 
necessary  for  Dolph  to  fire  he  might  not  stop 
a  portion  of  the  bird  shot. 

Amos  was  nothing  if  not  thoughtful,  and 


218     CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

while  he  may  have  been  ready  to  sacrifice 
much  upon  the  altar  of  friendship,  that  did 
not  necessitate  his  accommodating  Big  Gabe 
and  Crawley  by  sharing  their  burdens. 

Sallie  remained  on  her  knees,  with  her 
hands  clasped  in  front  of  her  child-fashion, 
watching  the  progress  of  the  boy  toward  the 
point  where  in  her  mind  his  safety  seemed 
assured,  for  were  not  his  companions  waiting 
to  receive  him? 

A  very  pitiful  object  the  little  girl  looked 
just  then,  Dolph  was  thinking.  And  then 
he  felt  his  hand  clutched  by  Amos,  who  had 
arrived  in  company  of  Teddy. 

After  all  their  adventures,  the  right  thing 
had  come  about  at  last;  and  there  did  not 
seem  to  be  any  reason  why  they  should  not 
strike  out  at  once  for  the  camp  on  the  shore 
of  the  lake,  where  their  tents  and  canoes 
awaited  them. 

Undoubtedly,  after  the  two  ruffians  awoke, 
and  realized  that  their  prisoner  had  not  only 
escaped,  but  carried  off  the  precious  Marlin 
gun  with  him  they  would  consider  it  too  risky 
to  remain  in  the  neighborhood  of  those  whom 
they  had  been  plotting  against. 

And  the  chances  were  the  boys  would  have 
no  further  trouble  with  the  pair  of  lawless 
characters. 


THE  UPLIFTED  HAND  219 

One  thing  alone  worried  Dolph. 

Would  little  Sallie  be  suspected  of  having 
assisted  the  woods  boy  make  his  escape; 
and  if  so,  would  her  brutal  father  treat  her 
as  he  was  accustomed  to  serving  those  bold 
enough  to  cross  his  will? 

It  was  a  galling  thought,  and  made  the  lad 
grit  his  teeth  because  of  his  utter  inability 
to  alter  the  complexion  of  things. 

So  the  three  boys  began  to  move  along  the 
creek  bed,  intending  to  leave  it  at  a  point 
further  on,  and  take  to  the  shelter  of  the 
woods. 

The  first  thing  Teddy  did,  however,  was  to 
exchange  guns  with  Amos;  and  the  very 
touch  of  his  recovered  favorite  seemed  to  send 
a  thrill  of  pleasure  through  the  whole  system 
of  the  lumberman's  son. 

With  that  gun  in  his  possession  Teddy  felt 
doubly  armed,  and  ready  to  defy  the  forces 
of  villainy  that  could  be  arrayed  against  him. 

They  had  gone  only  a  short  distance,  after 
creeping  out  of  the  gully,  when  a  sound  came 
to  their  ears  that  caused  each  of  them  to  stop 
instantly  in  his  tracks,  and  listen  eagerly. 

There  could  be  no  mistaking  the  nature 
of  the  eruption,  for  it  was  the  roaring  voice 
of  Big  Gabe,  calling  upon  his  companions  to 


220    CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

get  up  and  see  what  a  trick  had  been  played 
upon  them  while  they  slept. 

Immediately  the  three  lads  sought  places 
of  observation,  and  the  same  thought  seemed 
to  flash  through  the  mind  of  each — what  was 
about  to  happen  to  Sallie? 

As  they  looked  toward  the  camp  they  saw 
that  the  big  timber  cruiser  had  tossed  an 
armful  of  light  wood  upon  the  red  embers  of 
the  fire,  for  already  a  flame  had  commenced 
to  shoot  up,  and  the  immediate  vicinity  was 
illuminated. 

Crawley  was  on  his  feet  also,  prancing 
around,  and  evidently  more  or  less  enraged 
because  he  could  see  nothing  of  the  prisoner, 
who  had  been  there,  safely  tied  hand  and  foot, 
when  they  lay  down  to  sleep. 

Big  Gabe  was  pointing  toward  the  girl, 
and  his  act  was  full  of  significance,  for  Sallie 
had  not  moved  from  her  position,  and  she 
was  exactly  in  the  spot  where  Amos  had  last 
been  seen. 

Even  duller-witted  men  than  these  must 
have  been  able  to  put  two  and  two  together, 
when  the  conditions  were  so  plain.  Crawley 
of  course  could  easily  guess  where  Amos  had 
received  his  assistance,  even  before  he  strode 
over,  and  clutched  the  child  by  the  arm, 
savagely  dragging  her  to  her  feet. 


THE  UPLIFTED  HAND  221 

Dolph  unconsciously  leveled  his  gun  at  the 
man  though  of  course  he  would  not  have 
dared  fired  at  that  distance  lest  Sallie  be 
injured,  as  well. 

But  the  whole  three  boys  were  ready  to 
spring  to  their  feet  and  dash  forward,  if  it 
came  to  the  worst. 

As  Crawley  thus  dragged  the  girl's  arm  up 
in  that  violent  fashion,  what  she  held  clutched 
in  her  hand  was  disclosed;  this  of  course, 
was  the  very  knife,  one  used  in  her  kitchen 
work  perhaps,  with  which  the  bonds  of  Amos 
had  been  cut  a  few  minutes  before. 

Big  Gabe  gave  utterance  to  a  howl,  and 
immediately  threw  up  his  hands,  as  if  by  that 
tragic  gesture  to  intimate  that  he  was  ready 
to  drop  the  game  then  and  there  since  there 
seemed  to  be  a  traitor  in  the  camp.  But  he 
evidently  looked  to  Crawley  to  fit  the  punish- 
ment to  the  crime,  since  it  was  a  family  affair. 

Crawley  at  first  seemed  a  little  stunned  at 
this  positive  evidence  of  SalhVs  guilt  *  but  the 
pent-up  evil  in  his  nature  broke  out  in  a 
volley  of  oaths. 

Carried  away  by  the  violence  of  his  passion 
he  raised  his  heavy  hand  to  strike  the  child 
down  at  his  feet. 

Had  he  done  so,  the  man  would  have  had 


222     CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

to  reckon  with  three  furious  lads,  for  all  of 
them  were  ready  to  leap  forward  and  finish 
him  as  he  deserved  by  forcing  him  to  run  the 
gauntlet  of  their  shot  guns. 

The  fire  leaped  up  into  a  fierce  blaze  at  that 
moment,  as  if  desirous  of  allowing  the  angry 
man  to  plainly  see  the  white  face  of  his  daugh- 
ter, as  she  stood  there,  bravely  facing  him, 
with  words  from  her  mother  about  saving  him, 
on  her  lips,  and  a  look  of  calm  resignation  set 
upon  her  face. 

It  was  a  tableau  for  about  ten  seconds,  with 
the  brute's  hand  raised  aloft,  and  the  child 
standing  there,  looking  straight  into  his  eyes. 

Crawley  simply  could  not  stand  it.  Perhaps 
he  saw  again  the  look  that  had  been  upon  her 
mother's  face  the  last  time  he  had  struck  her, 
before  she  died )  a  smile  that  doubtless  had 
haunted  the  guilty  wretch  ever  since. 

Shaking  his  ugly  head,  and  drawing  a  long 
breath,  he  threw  her  from  him  and  turning, 
strode  away. 

Dolph  sighed. 

He  felt  relieved,  and  yet  in  a  measure  disap- 
pointed, for  just  then  when  his  blood  was  up, 
it  seemed  to  the  boy  that  the  problem  of 
little  Sallie's  future  could  best  be  decided 
by  energetic  action  on  the  part  of  himself  and 
his  chums. 


THE  UPLIFTED  HAND  223 

But  it  was  not  to  be. 

One  last  look  they  cast  in  the  direction  of  the 
fire,  and  then  plunged  into  the  depths  of  the 
pine  woods. 

Dolph  wondered  if  fortune  would  ever  throw 
them  in  contact  with  any  of  these  persons 
again.  True,  they  had  not  wholly  enjoyed 
their  association  with  the  two  men,  but  their 
thoughts  must  often  go  out  to  the  little  lass 
who  was  struggling  with  one  of  the  greatest 
problems  that  can  beset  any  of  her  sex,  a 
task  foolishly  set  her  by  the  mother  who  was 
gone.  And  bravely  was  little  Sallie  endeavor- 
ing to  fulfill  her  trust. 

Amos  knew  just  about  where  they  were, 
and  which  direction  they  must  head  in  order 
to  reach  the  shore  of  the  lake  around  the 
spot  where  they  had  made  in  the  camp. 

The  genius  of  the  Michigan  backwoods  boy 
for  locating  places  was  very  marked.  And 
Teddy,  who  was  a  little  bewildered  himself, 
was  glad  to  be  able  to  fall  back  on  the  one 
who  was  able  to  serve  as  a  pilot. 

"I  notice  you  saved  one  thing  from  the 
wreck,' '  remarked  Teddy,  as  they  walked 
steadily  forward,  hoping  to  reach  the  camp, 
even  though  exhausted,  long  before  the  hour 
of  dawn.  "I  saw  you  pick  it  us  on  your 
way  out." 


224     CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

"Well,  yes,"  chuckled  Amos.  "It  struck 
me  I  was  entitled  to  something,  to  pay  up 
for  all  the  bother  they  gave  me.  It  is  too 
bad  to  get  away  with  old  Crawley's  fiddle 
just  when  he's  gone  and  learned  how  to  start 
on  the  second  part  of  "The  Arkansaw  Trav- 
eler," after  waiting  so  long.  But  I  was  just 
fiddle  hungry,  boys,  and  I  felt  I  must  have 
the  thing. " 

"Glad  of  it,  "said  Teddy. 

"That's  right,"  added  Dolph,  enthusias- 
tically; "we  can  have  music  every  night  now 
after  this,  and  I  give  you  my  word,  Amos, 
every  time  you  play  I  can  just  shut  my  eyes 
and  see  that  crazy  old  rascal  jumping  around, 
snapping  his  fingers,  whistling  and  acting 
like  he'd  just  broke  out  of  a  lunatic  asy- 
lum." 

"And  I'll  always  see  her  a-settin'  there  on 
that  three-legged  stool,  holdin'her  chin  in 
the  hollow  of  her  hand  and  lookin'  at  me 
with  them  big  blue  eyes.  Poor  Sallie;  poor 
little  gal.  She's  got  a  hard  row  to  hoe, 
pardners,"  and  Amos  sighed  heavily. 

"There's  one  thing  we  must  do  when  we 
get  to  the  Soo,"  said  Teddy,  firmly. 

"I  know  what  you're  going  to  say,"  de- 
clared Dolph,  "and  you  can  just  bank  on  me 
backing  you  up  in  it,  too." 


THE  UPLIFTED  HAND  225 

"We'll  see  Sallie's  grandmother  and  make 
her  understand  that  when  the  child  comes 
back  to  her  again  to  stay  a  spell,  she  must 
never  let  her  go  away  again.  I  reckon  she 
don't  know  what  kind  of  a  man  Crawley  is, 
because  Sallie  would  never  say  a  word 
against  her  father.  But  this  thing  has  got 
to  stop." 

When  Teddy  spoke  in  that  way,  the  oth- 
ers just  knew  he  meant  it,  and  the  chances 
were  little  Sallie  would  sooner  or  later  find 
that  she  would  not  be  allowed  to  make  the 
sacrifice  of  her  health  and  happiness,  in  the 
useless  expectation  that  by  so  doing  she 
might  possibly  reform  that  hopeless,  drunken 
rascal  she  called  father. 

So  the  boys  pushed  on  in  a  direct  line. 
Tired  as  they  were,  they  would  not  let  any- 
thing keep  them  from  carrying  out  their 
plans. 

About  two  hours  after  midnight  they  came 
upon  the  shore  of  the  lake,  with  the  battered 
old  moon  showing  them  the  beloved  khaki- 
colored  tent,  just  as  they  had  left  !t. 


CHAPTER  XXII 

FLY  FISHING  FOE  BASS 

They  were  certainly  a  tired  lot,  all  right. 

For  once,  at  least,  the  rising  sun  caught 
the  three  boys  fast  asleep.  Indeed,  it  was 
fully  two  hours  afterward  before  any  one  came 
creeping  out  of  the  tent.  Then  it  turned  out 
to  be  Amos,  wishing  to  build  a  fire  so  they 
could  get  a  pot  of  coffee  and  some  bacon  ready 
for  breakfast. 

No  one  seemed  anxious  to  stir  far  that 
morning. 

"And  it  isn't  that  we  need  fear  meeting 
up  with  those  two  hard  cases,  either,"  said 
Teddy,  when  the  subject  was  laughingly  re- 
ferred to  by  Dolph.  "Fact  is,  we  all  of  us 
feel  pretty  well  done  up,  and  satisfied  to  just 
lie  around  and  rest. " 

"One  thing,"  remarked  Dolph,  "I  mean  to 
do  if  I  feel  a  little  more  chipper  this  after- 
noon." 

"I  can  guess  it,"  laughed  Teddy,  jerking 
his  thumb  toward  the  near-by  lake,  "why 
they've  been  breaking  water  all  morning, 
just  jumping  out  to  see  what  ails  the  crowd. 


FLY  FISHING  FOR  BASS         227 

To  think  of  the  outfit  for  bass  fishing  you  Ve 
got  along  with  you  lying  idle,  when  here  they 
are  at  your  tent  door,  crazy  to  grab  your  flies." 

"Hold  on!"  exclaimed  Dolph,  "that  set- 
tles it.  I  thought  I  might  make  a  try,  but 
now  I  know  it. " 

And  ten  minutes  later  Teddy  chuckled  to 
see  him  jointing  his  rod,  and  arranging  what 
he  believed  might  be  an  all-round  taking 
cast  of  bass  flies,  consisting  of  a  Parmachene 
Belle,  a  Montreal  and  a  Red  Ibis. 

Teddy  smacked  his  lips  and  as  Amos  looked 
up  he  remarked 

"It  worked  all  right.  Knew  he  just  could 
not  stand  it.    Fresh  fish  for  supper,  Amos." 

But  the  day  was  warm,  and  Dolph  knew 
the  folly  of  going  out  to  cast  his  flies  while  the 
sun  was  high  and  the  sky  clear. 

Along  about  four  in  the  afternoon  the  con- 
ditions changed,  just  as  he  had  expected 
would  be  the  case,  judging  from  his  observa- 
tion of  the  weather. 

Some  clouds  came  up  and  obscured  the  sun. 
A  gentle  breeze,  and  from  the  right  quarter, 
too,  created  a  ripple  on  the  surface  of  the 
erstwhile  smooth  lake. 

So  Dolph  jumped  into  one  of  the  canoes 
and  set  out.    He  dearly  loved  to  feel  the  thrill 


228     CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

that  came  when  he  felt  a  sturdy  bronze- 
backed  finny  warrior  tugging  at  the  end  of 
his  line,  now  leaping  wildly  out  of  the  water, 
and  then  trying  to  find  some  sharp-pointed 
rock  on  the  bottom  of  the  lake  against  which 
to  drag  the  delicate  leader,  so  as  to  weaken 
it,  and  give  him  a  chance  to  break  away. 

There  was  no  end  of  sport. 

Everything  seemed  favorable,  and  for  some 
time  Dolph  had  the  time  of  his  fife  tempting 
the  eager  fish,  playing  them,  sometimes  two 
at  once,  and  capturing  three  times  as  many 
as  the  camp  could  use. 

But,  like  the  true  sportsman  that  he  was, 
Dolph  returned  all  his  catch  to  the  water 
after  the  limit  he  set  had  been  reached. 

Tiring  finally  of  the  fun,  and  Amos  looking 
as  though  anxious  to  get  hold  of  the  catch 
in  order  to  prepare  the  fish  for  supper,  Dolph 
came  in. 

"Give  'em  a  try,  Teddy,  just  to  see  what 
fighters  they  have  up  here  in  this  cool  water, " 
he  remarked,  as  his  chum  came  down  to  ad- 
mire the  catch. 

"Guess  I  will,"  returned  the  other.  "I 
may  not  be  as  crazy  over  fishing  as  you  are, 
Dolph,  but  I  always  enjoy  the  feel  of  a  two- 
pound  fighter  like  that  one  you  got.     Didn't 


FLY  FISHING  FOR  BASS         229 

he  keep  you  hustling,  though?  I  thought 
you  were  going  to  lose  the  sly  dodger  when 
he  ran  under  the  boat.  But  you  didn't. 
You  were  on  to  all  his  tricks,  old  fellow. " 

So  Teddy  went  out  and  had  all  the  sport 
he  wanted,  up  to  the  time  the  shades  of  even- 
ing began  to  gather,  and  Amos,  beating  a  big 
spoon  on  a  frying  pan  announced  that  supper 
was  ready. 

But  Teddy  brought  in  only  one  fish,  which 
he  had  accidentally  hooked  so  seriously  that 
he  thought  best  to  knock  it  on  the  head, 
rather  than  return  it  to  the  water. 

"Enough  for  breakfast,  with  that  fine 
fellow, "  Amos  remarked,  for  he  had  not  cooked 
all  of  Dolph's  catch. 

They  all  united  in  declaring  the  fish  gilt- 
edged.  And  it  was  decided  while  eating 
supper,  to  put  in  just  one  more  day  in  this 
lake  camp. 

Then  they  would  try  and  find  the  man  who 
had  the  horse  and  wagon,  and  with  whose 
assistance  they  hoped  to  make  the  long  port- 
age over  to  the  railroad,  and  launch  the 
canoes  in  the  waters  of  the  little  Tahquamanon 
River  shortly  beyond. 

Here  at  a  place  named  McMillan,  they  ex- 
pected  to   replenish   their   now   diminished 


230     CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

stores,  so  as  to  be  ready  for  the  long  dash 
down  to  White  Fish  Bay,  and  then  skirting 
the  south  shore  of  Lake  Superior,  bringing  up 
finally  at  Sault  Ste.  Marie,  where  the  Govern- 
ment owns  the  great  canal  and  locks,  through 
which  much  greater  tonnage  passes  in  a 
summer  season  than  goes  through  the  famous 
Suez  Canal  in  a  whole  year. 

That  night  the  boys  thought  it  best  to  keep 
watch. 

They  really  did  not  anticipate  any  trouble 
in  connection  with  Crawley  and  Big  Gabej 
but  knowing  the  character  of  the  two  men 
they  felt  that  it  would  not  be  advisable  to 
take  any  chances. 

Besides,  Teddy  was  more  than  half  inclined 
to  suspect  that  the  lumber  combine  to  which 
his  father's  company  was  so  bitterly  opposed, 
was  partly  responsible  for  the  presence  of  the 
big  and  unscrupulous  timber  cruiser  being 
in  the  vicinity. 

They  may  have  gotten  wind  of  the  expe- 
dition planned  by  the  three  boys;  and  sus- 
picious lest  it  might  be  only  a  cloak  to  hide 
some  clever  deal  of  the  wealthy  lumberman, 
just  because  his  son  was  in  the  party,  Gabe 
may  have  been  hired  to  keep  an  eye  on  their 
movements. 


FLY  FISHING  FOR  BASS         23! 

However  this  might  be,  there  was  no  sign 
of  any  intruder  in  the  camp,  and  the  night 
passed  without  an  alarm. 

On  the  following  morning  Teddy  paddled 
off  all  alone,  his  mission  being  to  find  the 
settler  living  near  the  north-eastern  point 
of  the  lake,  and  making  some  arrangement 
with  him,  looking  to  the  packing  of  their 
canoes  across  country. 

It  was  going  to  be  an  all-day  job,  they 
figured;  indeed  they  would  consider  them- 
selves fortunate  indeed  if  night-fall  found  them 
fully  launched  upon  the  stream  that  after 
numerous  windings  emptied  into  the  great 
White  Fish  Bay. 

The  others  amused  themselves  in  various 
ways,  Dolph  having  to  strike  off  some  snap- 
shots of  the  lake  camp.  How  bitterly  he  re- 
gretted that  they  would  have  nothing  to  re- 
mind them  of  all  the  strange  things  happening 
in  connection  with  the  two  poachers  and  little 
Sallie — only  the  memory  of  it  all,  and  a 
wretched  fiddle,  which  Amos  was  tinkering 
with  every  little  while,  trying  to  get  it  in 
better  shape. 

When  Teddy  came  back  he  was  evidently 
in  a  good  humor. 

"All  fixed,  fellows!"  he  called  out,  even  be- 
fore landing. 


232     CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

"Then  you  found  our  man?"  asked  Dolph, 
quite  relieved;  for  he  yearned  to  set  eyes  on 
new  scenes  and  had  not  fancied  going  back 
over  their  course,  as  must  have  been  the  case 
had  a  portage  been  found  impossible. 

"Sure,  we  can  bring  our  canoes  nearly 
to  his  door.  He  lives  up  a  creek,  too,  which 
makes  it  all  the  easier.  And  in  the  morning 
bright  and  early  we  strike  camp  here.  No 
sleeping  till  after  the  sun's  up,  hear!"  Teddy 
continued. 

"Well  I  should  say  not,"  laughed  Dolph. 
"But  get  out  here,  Teddy.  I've  fixed  my 
kodak  so  as  to  work  it  automatically  at  a 
distance.  That  gives  me  a  chance  to  get  in 
the  picture,  you  see,  and  makes  it  complete. " 

"Good  for  you!"  declared  Teddy.  "I've 
always  been  sorry  for  the  fellow  who  carries 
a  kodak  along,  because  he  has  to  make  sets  of 
pictures  for  others,  and  hardly  ever  shows  up 
in  one  himself.  Then  I  want  to  go  out  and 
say  good-bye  to  the  bully  bass  of  this  old  lake. 
Get  ready  for  another  fish  supper,  Amos." 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

ALONG  THE   TAHQUAMANON 

The  boys  must  have  been  up  before  day- 
light on  that  next  morning.  Certain  it  is  that 
the  sun  could  not  have  been  half  an  hour 
high  than  they  stood  on  the  little  beach,  waved 
their  hats  three  times  as  they  gave  that  many 
vigorous  cheers  for  Paradise  Camp,  and  then 
entering  their  loaded  canoes,  paddled  blithely 
away. 

"  A  bully  little  camp,  that/ '  declared  Dolph, 
as  they  urged  the  light  boats  along  with  sturdy 
sweeps  of  the  spruce  paddles;  "we'll  never 
forget  it,  or  the  gamey  bass  of  Manistique 
Lake." 

"  Or  a  lot  of  other  things  that  came  to  pass 
around  this  same  neck  of  old  Michigan," 
suggested  Teddy. 

"  I  guess  not, "  Amos  put  in,  and  they  knew 
very  well  that  he  was  thinking  right  then  of 
little  Sallie,  also  how  she  had  stood  there  with- 
out flinching,  while  that  half-drunken  brute 
of  a  father  held  his  fist  half  raised. 

Would  any  of  them  forget  that  picture  as 


234     CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

long  as  they  lived — Teddy  and  Dolph  felt  sure 
they  never  could. 

In  due  time  they  found  where  the  man 
lived  who  was  willing,  for  a  cash  consideration, 
and  a  pretty  stiff  one,  to  convey  the  empty 
canoes  and  the  packs  that  would  embrace 
all  the  duffel  across  the  miles  of  pine  woods, 
to  McMillan. 

The  boys  knew  how  to  pack  things  to  good 
advantage.  The  canoes  were  laid  on  top  of 
all,  and  upside  down,  being  secured  thus  so 
no  accident  could  befall  them. 

As  the  sun  was  shining  brightly,  of  course 
Dolph  could  not  rest  satisfied  until  he  had 
snapped  off  a  picture  of  the  queer  load  those 
horses  were  expected  to  haul  across  the  country 
following  a  "tote"  road  made  long  since  by 
lumbermen. 

Sometimes  the  boys  tiring  of  sitting,  and 
with  a  view  to  relieving  the  horses  in  the 
bargain,  would  drop  off  and  walk. 

Noon  came  and  found  them  still  on  the  way. 
But  the  man  was  now  sure  they  would  reach 
their  destination  by  four  o  'clock,  and  so  they 
concluded  to  stop  for  an  hour,  bait  the  horses 
and  have  some  refreshments  themselves. 

Amos  built  one  of  his  speedy  fires,  and  had 
that  aluminum  coffee  pot  settled  in  place  in  an 
amazingly  short  time. 


ALONG  THE  TAHQUAMANON    235 

After  a  good  rest,  the  journey  was  resumed 
through  the  pine  woods.  And  sure  enough 
the  driver  kept  his  word  for  it  was  not  much 
after  half  past  three  when  they  came  in  sight 
of  the  outskirts  of  McMillan. 

The  boys  had  vowed  not  to  sleep  under 
any  but  a  canvas  roof  during  the  entire  trip 
and  so  it  was  planned  to  launch  the  canoes 
immediately,  stow  their  goods,  and  drop 
down  the  river  half  a  mile  or  so,  in  the  hope 
and  expectation  of  discovering  a  good  spot 
to  put  up  the  tent. 

Then,  on  the  following  morning  they  would 
pack  again  and  go  on  down  to  a  place  named 
Newberry,  the  county  seat,  where  there  would 
be  larger  stores,  the  driver  told  them,  and  a 
better  chance  to  lay  in  the  kind  of  provisions 
they  wanted. 

There  was  no  hitch  in  their  plans,  and  they 
spent  a  fairly  decent  night,  marred  only  by 
the  frequent  barking  of  a  pack  of  dogs  from 
town,  that  seemed  to  have  banded  together 
for  a  coon  hunt,  or  something  along  that  order. 

On  the  next  morning  they  followed  the 
railroad  for  some  time,  passing  one  or  two 
small  places,  and  waving  their  hats  to  the 
passengers  on  a  train. 

Arrived  at  Newberry  they  left  Amos  in 


236     CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

charge  of  the  boats,  while  Teddy  and  Dolph 
sought  the  post  office  to  mail  letters,  as  well  as 
to  pick  up  anything  that  may  have  been  sent 
from  the  folks,  with  whom  they  had  left  a 
copy  of  their  plans,  marking  the  time  of  their 
expected  arrival  at  such  points  as  Newberry 
and  the  Soo. 

Afterwards  the  two  boys  took  the  list  they 
had  made  out,  of  things  they  needed,  and 
visiting  the  best  store  in  the  town,  purchased 
an  abundant  supply. 

"Last  chance  to  get  anything/'  warned 
Dolph,  when  Teddy  asked  if  there  was  any 
other  article  he  could  think  of,  "we  pass  no 
more  places  from  here  to  the  bay,  where  we 
strike  a  small  place  named  Emerson, "  and 
on  the  strength  of  this  plea,  Dolph  took  the 
liberty  of  adding  a  few  more  things  to  the  list. 

"Hope  the  canoes  don't  sink  with  all  that 
load,"  chuckled  Teddy,  as,  having  completed 
their  purchases,  which  were  to  be  delivered 
in  an  hour's  time  they  sauntered  down  in  the 
direction  of  the  river. 

"Oh!  they'll  bear  up,  all  right,"  declared 
the  other  "  and  besides,  remember  that  a  few 
meals  will  lighten  the  cargo  considerably." 

"I  guess  you're  right,"  admitted  Teddy. 
"I  never  saw  three  fellows  with  such  appetites 


ALONG  THE  TAHQUAMANON    237 

in  all  my  life.  I  'd  hate  to  board  this  crowd, 
believe  me. " 

"Well  I  don't  think  any  landlady  would 
get  rich  doing  it,"  Dolph  remarked,  with  a 
good-natured  grin. 

They  left  Newberry  about  two  in  the 
afternoon,  and  started  down  the  river  which 
immediately  entered  among  the  pine  woods 
and  marshes  that  make  up  most  of  the  region 
for  many  miles  along  the  south  shore  of 
Superior  east  of  the  famous  Pictured  Rocks. 

At  one  time  the  boys  had  contemplated 
taking  in  that  region  after  reaching  White 
Fish  Bay.  They  concluded,  however,  that 
the  open  lake  was  too  dangerous  a  cruising 
ground  for  such  frail  mosquito  craft.  Be- 
sides, they  desired  above  all  things,  to  visit 
the  city  on  the  famous  Soo  Rapids,  and  enjoy 
some  of  the  wonderful  things  to  be  met  with 
there. 

The  current  of  the  Tahquamanon  proved 
very  acceptable  to  the  boys.  After  using  the 
paddles  in  pushing  up  against  the  flow  of  the 
Manistique,  and  then  navigating  the  still 
waters  of  the  larger  lake  bearing  the  same 
name,  it  was  certainly  a  pleasure  to  simply 
guide  the  canoes,  and  allow  the  current  to  do 
the  rest. 


238    CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

They  were  in  no  hurry,  and  consequently 
went  ashore  rather  early  to  make  camp, 
enticed  by  ideal  conditions. 

Dolph  managed  to  get  a  snapshot  of  a  deer 
while  here.  The  animal  must  have  been 
aware  of  the  law's  protection  for  it  stood  knee- 
deep  in  the  water  browsing  upon  some  sort  of 
of  grass  or  lily  pads  while  the  official  photog- 
rapher took  several  views,  finally  walking  up 
closer  in  order  to  make  the  animal  leap,  so 
that  he  might  secure  that  variety  of  picture  for 
the  collection. 

Dolph  also  found  that  there  were  trout  in 
the  stream,  quite  good-sized  fellows  too,  of 
the  speckled  variety  that  can  be  caught  in 
Superior,  and  at  the  mouth  of  the  rivers  along 
the  north  shore,  as  high  as  eight  pounds  in 
weight. 

He  started  in  to  gather  a  mess  for  supper, 
and  declared  that  he  could  have  taken 
enough  to  feed  a  whole  troop  of  Boy  Scouts, 
had  he  cared  to  keep  them. 

"  Never  saw  fish  so  crazy  to  jump  into  a 
frying  pan,"  he  remarked,  afterwards  when, 
the  trout  having  been  cleaned,  they  were 
rolled  in  cracker  crumbs,  and  dropped  in  the 
hot  compound  secured  by  "trying  out"  slices 
of  fat  salt  pork. 


ALONG  THE  TAHQUAMANON    239 

And  when  the  beautifully  browned  fish  were 
eaten,  the  pink  meat  looking  so  dainty,  every 
one  declared  that  when  it  came  to  sweetness, 
the  trout  raised  in  the  clear  cold  waters 
of  Lake  Superior  had  no  rival. 

But  then  that  is  what  hungry  campers 
are  saying  up  in  Maine,  in  the  Adirondacks, 
and  in  various  other  places  where  trout  abound 
— they  are  always  the  finest  in  the  whole 
world,  when  you  have  your  appetite  along  with 
you  and  the  odor  of  supper  is  wafted  to  you 
on  the  wind  that  shakes  the  foliage  of  the 
pine  and  hemlock. 

Another  day  the  boys  dropped  still  lower 
down  the  Tahquamanon  and  in  doing  so 
drew  nearer  the  place  where  they  would 
finally  launch  upon  the  bosom  of  the  largest 
body  of  fresh  water  in  all  America,  the  mighty 
Superior,  well  named  by  the  early  explorers. 

Of  course,  there  were  occasionally  things 
that  served  to  break  the  monotony  of 
the  voyage,  Teddy  and  Dolph  for  instance, 
managed  to  bring  up  on  a  partly  submerged 
rock  at  a  place  where  the  current  was  pretty 
bracing.  They  came  very  near  having  a  spill 
too,  that  might  have  been  disastrous  in  so  far 
as  losing  things  was  concerned,  though  they 
hardly  felt  as  though  their  lives  had  been  in 


240    CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

danger  because  both  boys  chanced  to  be  good 
swimmers,  and  would  have  clung  to  the  canoe, 
which  had  air  compartments  fore  and  aft, 
and  was  believed  to  be  unsinkable. 

But  by  dint  of  some  clever  work  the  boys 
managed  to  save  themselves  from  this  dire 
disaster,  though  both  called  it  a  narrow  escape. 

"And  after  this,"  declared  Teddy,  "me  to 
tie  my  Marlin  to  the  ribs  of  the  boat  with 
this  piece  of  strong  cord.  Then  if  we  do  go 
over  I  won't  have  to  lose  the  gun  I  thing  so 
much  of.  After  snatching  it  out  of  Big 
Gabe's  hands,  I'd  call  it  a  shame  now  if  it 
went  to  the  bottom  of  the  Tahquamanon 
River. " 

"Huh!"  added  Dolph,  " honest  now,  I 
don 't  believe  1 11  go  to  all  that  trouble  about 
my  repeater.  To  tell  the  truth,  I'm  not  so 
much  stuck  on  that  fine  foreign-made  gun  as 
I  was  when  my  dad  made  me  a  present  of  it. 
Paid  a  hundred  dollars  or  so  for  the  thing  over 
in  Germany,  too.  But  I ' ve  sort  of  lost  faith 
in  the  thing.  Perhaps  it  was  my  fault  the 
mechanism  didn't  work  well;  but  when  a 
fellow  begins  to  look  on  his  gun  with  sus- 
picion, he  never  can  enjoy  it  again.  He'll 
always  be  afraid  something  is  going  to  go 
wrong. " 


ALONG  THE  TAHQUAMANON    241 

"Better  keep  it  until  the  end  of  this  trip, 
anyhow,"  advised  Teddy. 

"  Guess  I  ought  to,  seeing  it  was  a  present 
anyhow  but  another  time  you'll  find  me  on 
deck  with  a  different  make  of  gun,"  Dolph 
declared;    and  his  chum  only  smiled. 

Another  time  the  camp  was  invaded  by  a 
wandering  hog  with  a  whole  troop  of  partly 
grown  pigs;  and  they  had  no  peace  during 
the  balance  of  their  stay  there.  Whether 
the  porkers  scented  food,  or  "just  wanted  to 
be  friendly"  as  Teddy  put  it,  they  were 
hardly  driven  away  in  one  quarter  than 
another  detachment  turned  up  in  another 
place. 

Dolph  was  full  of  dark  threats  as  to  what 
he  would  do  pretty  soon,  if  the  invasion  did 
not  let  up.  He  even  handled  his  gun  in  a 
ferocious  manner,  and  asked  all  kinds  of 
questions  of  Amos  as  to  how  best  they  could 
roast  a  small  pig  in  an  earthern  oven,  made 
after  the  manner  of  the  old  hunters. 

But  this  must  all  have  been  said  just  in 
the  hope  of  the  old  sow  scenting  danger  to  her 
brood  when  she  whiffed  the  odor  of  burnt 
powder,  might  call  the  invading  army  off. 
Certain  it  was  that  Dolph  was  not  called  upon 
to  fire  his  gun;    and  they  positively  did  not 


242     CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

have  roast  pig  for  supper,  or  breakfast,  or 
any  other  meal,  for  that  matter.  And  at 
nightfall  their  troublesome  visitor,  grunting 
their  disgust,  departed. 

And  so  it  came  that  about  three  in  the 
afternoon  of  their  last  day  on  the  Tahqua- 
manon,  while  they  were  all  plying  their 
paddles  briskly,  Teddy  gave  vent  to  a  loud 
shout   and  pointed  ahead: 

"Look!  yonder  lies  Lake  Superior.  Tonight 
we  camp  on  the  shore  of  the  Big  Water!" 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

DOWN   THE   SOO   RAPIDS — CONCLUSION 

Teddy's  prohpecy  came  true. 

They  did  camp  that  night  on  the  shore  of 
White  Fish  Bay.  A  suitable  place  was  found 
where  above  a  sandy  beach  a  high  bank  offered 
good  inducements. 

But  the  boys  were  not  taking  chances. 
While  the  sun  went  down  in  a  golden  and 
rosy  mass  of  color,  who  could  say  that  they 
might  not  be  visited  by  one  of  those  sudden 
electrical  storm  which  during  the  summer 
sweep  over  the  great  lake,  making  it  danger- 
ous for  any  small  boat  to  be  out. 

So  the  boys  not  only  took  extra  precautions 
to  fasten  their  tent  down  securely;  but  with 
considerable  trouble  they  even  brought  both 
canoes  up  the  high  bank  and  fastened  them, 
bottoms  up,  with  ropes. 

Never  did  they  feel  better  repaid  for  their 
labor. 

About  half  way  between  midnight  and 
dawn  a  crash  of  thunder  aroused  them. 
Hurrying  out,  after  dressing  they  found  black 


244     CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

clouds  sweeping  down  from  the  northwest. 
Already  the  little  waves  were  breaking  on  the 
beach  below.  Had  they  simply  drawn  the 
canoes  out  of  the  water  and  left  them  there, 
doubtless  this  would  have  been  a  period  of 
more  of  less  anxiety  concerning  the  welfare  of 
the  small  craft. 

As  it  was,  all  they  had  to  do  now  was  to 
rope  down  the  canvas  a  little  more  securely, 
and  then  await  the  coming  of  the  squall. 

It  was  what  Dolph  called  a  "screamer." 

The  rain  was  carried  on  a  howling  wind  that 
must  have  come  across  that  big  body  of  water 
from  the  Canada  side  at  the  rate  of  fifty  miles 
an  hour. 

Fortunately  the  tent  had  some  protection 
from  this  fierce  wind,  since  they  had  erected 
it  just  back  of  a  large  granite  rock.  And 
while  the  rain  beat  down  in  a  flood  not  to 
speak  of  the  spray  that  dashed  twenty  feet 
in  the  air,  as  the  great  waves  slapped  up 
against  the  rocks  back  of  the  now  covered 
beach — in  spite  of  all  this  the  Khaki  colored 
tent  did  not  leak  a  single  drop. 

Whoever  was  responsible  for  the  water- 
proofing, must  have  done  a  fine  job;  for  if 
ever  canvas  was  put  to  a  severe  test,  that  tent 
was. 


DOWN  THE  SCO  RAPIDS  245 

The  thunder  roared,  the  lightning  flashed, 
and  the  wind  and  waves  howled;  but  while 
the  three  canoe  boys  made  no  attempt  to 
capture  any  sleep  while  the  summer  storm  was 
at  its  height,  they  felt  no  uneasiness.  With 
those  firm  rocks  underneath,  the  billows  of  the 
biggest  of  all  lakes  could  do  them  no  damage. 

They  supposed  they  might  be  marooned 
there  for  twenty-four  hours  because  the  lake 
would  be  too  rough  for  their  small  craft. 

In  this,  however,  they  were  pleasantly 
disappointed,  when  the  storm  went  off  mut- 
tering and  growling  toward  the  south,  and 
the  boys  thought  to  try  and  get  some  sleep, 
the  giant  waves  were  still  battering  away  at 
their  old  enemies  the  rocks,  and  sheets  of 
spray  fell  upon  the  tent  from  time  to  time. 

When  Teddy  awoke  he  missed  all  this  row; 
and  making  his  way  outside,  for  it  was  morn- 
ing, with  the  sun  shining  brightly,  he  was  sur- 
prised and  gratified  to  discover  that  the  sea 
had  gone  down  as  if  by  magic,  owing  to  a 
change  of  wind. 

"That  looks  as  if  we  might  get  away  this 
morning, "  remarked  Dolph,  joining  him. 

"It  certain  does.  But  where  is  Amos?" 
demanded  Teddy. 

"  Listen! " 


246     CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

The  sound  of  chopping  came  from  a  point 
near  by. 

"  Why,  of  course  it  wouldn't  be  Amos  if  he 
didn't  think  of  a  fire  the  first  thing,"  declared 
Teddy. 

"And  it  won't  feel  at  all  bad  this  A.  M.," 
said  Dolph.  '"  That  storm  sure  did  purify  the 
air  and  sent  the  mercury  tumbling  down  the 
tube.  Whew!  my  fingers  are  actually  cold, 
and  this  a  summer  day,  too." 

That  day  they  paddled  a  good  many  miles 
along  the  shore.  The  wind  being  now  in  the 
south,  favored  them,  for  as  a  rule  the  water 
was  very  calm.  It  warmed  up  at  noon,  so 
that  they  were  glad  to  strip  down  to  a  sleeve- 
less jersey. 

And  when  it  was  finally  decided  to  camp 
again  for  the  night  they  had  made  such  good 
progress  that  Teddy,  after  consulting  his 
chart,  declared  another  such  day  ought  to 
land  them  at  the  Soo  where  they  expected  to 
spend  several  days  ere  going  down  the  St. 
Mary's  river  to  the  head  of  Lake  Huron, 
where  they  would  put  their  boats  on  the 
steamer  bound  for  Mackinac  Island. 

The  first  part  of  the  program  was  carried 
out  on  the  following  day,  thanks  to  the 
favorable  weather,  which  kept  the  waves 
from  heading  in  on  the  southern  shore. 


DOWN  THE  SOO  RAPIDS  247 

Late  that  afternoon  they  sighted  the  electri- 
cal building  and  tower  that  marks  the  wonder- 
ful locks  of  the  great  Soo  Canal.  Here  they 
found  a  congestion  of  whaleback  steamers 
and  barges  bound  east  with  ore  and  grain, 
while  others  were  going  the  other  way  laden 
with  coal  and  other  things  needed  around 
Duluth  and  the  vast  grain  region  beyond 
Superior's  farther  boundary. 

There  was  almost  constant  whistling  day 
and  night. 

Making  camp  outside  of  town,  the  boys 
spent  their  first  night  at  the  Soo  in  their  own 
reliable  tent. 

On  the  following  morning  they  hired  a  man 
to  look  after  things,  and  started  out  to  see  the 
sights  of  the  place. 

Of  course,  they  spent  most  of  their  time  for 
two  days  at  the  great  lock,  watching  the  ves- 
sels come  and  go.  The  grand  rapids  also 
fascinated  them.  And  there  was  the  govern- 
ment fish  hatchery  on  a  little  island  between 
the  canal  and  the  river,  where  the  boys  were 
interested  in  many  things  connected  with  the 
artificial  raising  of  fish. 

In  the  pools  belonging  to  the  hatchery  they 
saw  scores  of  monster  speckled  trout  of  a  size 
to  make  Dolph's  mouth  water — fully  eight 


248     CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

pounds.  They  would  even  rush  at  and  seize 
upon  a  blade  of  grass  when  he  tapped  the 
water  with  it,  as  an  insect  might  do. 

Of  course,  these  fish  were  kept  in  order  that 
eggs  might  be  secured  by  millions,  and  placed 
in  the  jars  to  hatch  out. 

The  boys  early  made  the  acquaintance  of 
some  stalwart,  dark-featured  fellows  "who  had 
long  canoes  over  twenty  feet  in  length  in 
which  for  half  a  dollar  each,  two  of  them  would 
take  a  party  of  four  or  six  down  the  whirling 
rapids. 

And  of  course  the  boys  quickly  took  that 
trip.  The  guides  who  piloted  them  claimed 
to  be  the  grandsons  of  old  John  Boucher  the 
Indian  whom  tens  of  thousands  of  tourists 
knew  as  the  most  daring  and  skilful  guide  of 
all  the  canoe  men  at  the  Soo.  Old  John  some 
years  ago  took  another  pilot  aboard,  and 
started  on  the  longest  voyage  he  ever  under- 
took. But  from  what  he  told  the  writer, 
just  two  years  before  he  lay  down  in  his  last 
sleep,  with  the  familiar  roar  of  the  Soo  Rapids 
sounding  in  his  ears,  the  way  was  fully  charted 
and  buoyed  to  him,  and  he  had  the  utmost 
confidence  in  his  pilot. 

In  sweeping  down  the  rapids  where  the 
outlet  of  Lake  Superior  drops  nineteen  feet 


DOWN  THE  SOO  RAPIDS         249 

in  the  mile,  the  boys  noticed  the  terrible  gaping 
whirlpool  over  to  the  left.  They  saw  their 
guides  avoided  it  sharply,  and  upon  ques- 
tioning later  as  to  why  this  was  done  learned 
that  only  one  man  had  dared  to  always  pilot 
his  canoe  close  to  the  edge  of  that  seething 
vortex,  to  be  sucked  into  which  meant  death. 

"  Since  Old  John  is  gone,  no  guide  cares  to 
take  chances,"  was  the  reply. 

Of  course,  the  boys  also  hunted  up  the 
grandmother  of  little  Sallie.  They  found  her 
living  in  comfort,  with  a  son  who  had  some 
office  connected  with  the  electrical  depart- 
ment of  the  great  locks. 

The  old  lady  was  shocked  when  she  learned 
what  kind  of  a  man  Crawley  really  was.  She 
declared  that  if  the  girl  came  back  again  as 
usual  after  a  summer  with  her  father  she 
should  never  go  out  into  the  pine  woods  again. 

And  she  never  did. 

Some  months  later  Teddy,  who  had  left 
his  address  with  the  old  lady,  received  a  letter 
from  her  that  really  eased  his  mind  greatly, 
as  it  did  also  those  of  Dolph  and  Amos,  when 
they  came  to  hear  about  it. 

Sallie  was  home  again,  sad,  but  fully  satis- 
fied that  she  had  carried  out  the  last  injunction 


250     CAMP  MATES  IN  MICHIGAN 

of  her  mother  to  stick  to  her  father  to  the  end. 

Crawley  was  no  more.  He  had  been  killed 
by  a  stroke  of  lightning,  and  the  girl  rendered 
unconscious  at  the  same  time.  Recovering, 
little  Sallie  had  made  her  way  to  the  camp  of 
a  party  of  Chicago  people,  whom  she  knew 
were  on  the  other  side  of  the  small  lake. 

These  people  had  buried  Crawley,  and  seen 
to  it  that  the  wise  little  girl  was  put  in  charge 
of  a  conductor  on  a  train  who  would  deliver 
her  to  her  folks. 

Sallie  wanted  to  be  remembered  too — as  if 
any  of  them  would  ever  forget  her. 

Taking  their  smaller  canoes  right  into  the 
big  ones,  the  boys  again  shot  the  rapids  and 
then  leisurely  made  their  way  down  the  St. 
Mary's  River,  camping  several  times  and 
taking  their  toll  of  the  fierce  bass  for  which 
certain  stretches  of  this  river  are  noted. 

At  the  mouth  of  the  river  they  waited  for 
the  daily  steamboat  from  the  Soo,  which 
took  boys  and  canoes  aboard,  landing  them 
at  Mackinac  Island.  After  a  day  at  this 
loveliest  of  all  islands,  having  a  week  more  on 
their  hands,  the  boys  boarded  the  steamer 
Islander,  which  carried  them,  also  their  canoes 
in  among  the  Snow  Islands. 


DOWN  THE  SOO  RAPIDS         251 

Here  they  passed  the  balance  of  their  vaca- 
tion, devoting  some  time  to  fishing,  more  to 
taking  snap  shots,  and  most  of  all  to  satisfying 
the  clamorous  demands  of  their  healthy  young 
appetites. 

Finally  they  got  in  touch  with  civilization, 
had  their  boats  shipped  out,  and  in  the  end 
landed  at  Teddy's  home  in  Grand  Rapids. 

Dolph  declares  that  another  summer  will 
find  him  up  in  Michigan  again,  with  his  two 
staunch  and  true  camp  mates.  And  in  return, 
by  letter,  Teddy  has  confided  his  belief 
that  Amos,  who  is  attending  school  with  the 
prospect  of  studying  medicine  when  he  gradu- 
ates, only  hopes  to  go  along  with  them  so  that 
he  may  run  over  to  the  Soo  and  pay  his 
promised  visit  at  the  home  of  the  old  lady  who 
is  the  grandmother  of  Sallie. 

THE  END 


y 


,">- 


^^- :■■■■■,■  'Vtivi^  ■/■ 


